Powers of Yin and Yang
by Black Raider
Summary: A marriage and a reunion. Then, a kidnapping. Kivu has been stripped of his magic, and his wife is gone. Shifu knows of a power that can help, but it's extremely dangerous. Will Kivu take the risk for the nymph he loves? How's Lin tied into this?
1. An Invitation

Powers of Yin and Yang

Chapter One- An Invitation

Things were very peaceful after Dai had been destroyed. The villagers were overjoyed to have the creepy house gone as well. Destiny had informed the residents of the Jade Palace that Dai's kind-hearted mother is living it in Heaven.

At the Jade Palace, everything was pretty well. It had been six months since Dai's defeat, and everything was almost back to normal. Zhan shi and his pack still stayed nearby the palace, and Shifu visited whenever he could. Since Lang the Werewolf Spirit had left him to be Guardian of the Werewolves, Shifu's eyes went back to normal. When he transformed, his fur was reddish-brown instead of black with a white starred chest. But he was still fierce if made angry. Po was still cooking his delicious meals for his master and fellow warriors. The Five still trained hard. Tai Lung, Mei, and Kiki went back to their home.

The only thing that made everyone sad was a certain dragon that was missing from their lives.

Everybody was extremely upset when Lin had to leave with her sister, Daiyu. Tai Lung and his family still missed Daiyu, who was something of a sister to Kiki. Of all the people who were sad, Shifu seemed the saddest. His heart had been broken just enough that he was crying himself to sleep the night after Lin had left. Lin had been like no other friend he ever had. The little dragon was the only one who knew how to make him smile when he was miserable. Now that she was gone, it seemed like an arrow had been shot into his heart and the wound wouldn't heal.

But with every sadness comes something good.

One day, Po came into breakfast holding a scroll in his hands. He tossed it to Shifu before finishing cooking breakfast. Shifu read the scroll and smiled.

"Well what do you know!" he said happily.

"What is it?" Viper asked.

"You all remember Kivu and Shinjitsu, right?" Shifu asked. Everyone nodded happily. Kivu was a zebra with magic powers who helped them defeat Dai and escape the haunted house. Shinjitsu was a nymph that was the daughter to the Greek goddess for balance and revenge, Nemesis. The two of them were lovers, and Kivu had been planning on marrying Shinjitsu.

"What's up?" Po asked as he served breakfast.

"Well, it says that Kivu proposed his and Shinjitsu's marriage to Nemesis, who said yes!" Shifu said. Everyone cheered. "They're inviting us to the wedding."

"When is it?" Tigress asked.

"It's in two weeks." Shifu said. "If we agree, they'll come and pick us up. I'm going. Anyone else?"

"Totally!" Po said.

"You _have _to come, Po." Shifu said. "It says here that Kivu wants you to cook."

"K." Po shrugged.

"All in favor of going say 'Aye'." Shifu said. Everyone shouted, "Aye!"

Shifu smiled. "Alright then. I'll write back." He walked off to do so.

"That's so great that Kivu and Shinjitsu are getting married." Viper said. "It's been so long since we've seen them."

"Yeah, I can't wait." Crane said. "I can't wait to see Kivu and get to know him better."

"I hope they like my cooking." Po said.

"Everyone loves your cooking." Mantis said. "Although I wonder why they'd pick us up?"

"Maybe the wedding is held someplace really secret and peaceful." Tigress suggested.

"Would they hold it in Heaven?" Monkey asked.

"Not if they're inviting mortals." Crane said. Everyone shrugged and ate.

A few days later, after the sun and set, everyone was waiting in the courtyard, where Kivu and Shinjitsu said they'd pick them up.

"I still don't see how they're going to pick us up." Po said.

"They're all-powerful immortals." Shifu said. "They'll think of something." Suddenly, there was a strange buzzing sound. Everyone looked around and it was Crane that noticed one of the stars above starting to shoot down…..right towards them!

"Hit the dirt!" Crane yelled. Everyone dove in different directions as the "star" crash landed in the spot they used to occupy. When they looked back, there was a strange wagon in the spot they were in a split second ago. The wagon looked like it was literally pulled out of the sky; it was black with white dots that looked like stars. Pulling the wagon was two, pitch black wild mustangs. Sitting in the driver and shotgun seat of the wagon were two nymphs.

One was a girl human, with pale skin and short cropped hair. She wore a skirt and a long sleeved shirt that was woven from grass. A rose was tucked behind her ear. Her hair, clothes, and flower behind her ear were as black as raven feathers. Her eyes were golden It was Shinjitsu, the nymph daughter to Nemesis.

The other nymph was a boy human. He had a very strong and burly built, his muscles clearly seen under his shirt. He was wearing a sleeveless white shirt and loose black pants. His skin was slightly tan. His hair was really kind of weird. It was really spiky and black-and-white striped. Nobody knew who it was at all, but his kind brown eyes looked familiar.

It wasn't until Shinjitsu said, "Aw, Kivu, darling, I believe we scared them." that they realized it was Kivu. Everyone emerged from their hiding places to greet the couple-to-be.

"You turned into a nymph?" Po asked Kivu.

The zebra/nymph laughed. "Yep." Kivu said. "I thought it'd make the relationship better." Shinjitsu smiled warmly and kissed Kivu's cheek.

"You didn't have to do that." She said. "Alright! Everyone climb aboard!"

As everyone climbed into the wagon, Viper asked, "Where's the wedding?"

"In one of my mother's secret temples." Shinjitsu said. "It's in Greece."

"What's with the wagon?" Po inquired.

"We'll be using star travel to get to Greece faster." Kivu said. He instructed everyone to hold on tight for the take off. Everyone obeyed, and Kivu, who was driving, whipped the reins and the horses took off. Everyone held on tightly as the horse galloped off, faster and faster, before quickly ascending into the sky. They went up at almost a 90 degree angle before they evened out and the ride was a lot slower and smoother. Everyone relaxed, but not before Po got airsick and had to throw up in the bucket Kivu had stowed on board for just that reason.

While Tigress and Viper chatted away with the bride-to-be, Shifu moved up into the shotgun seat next to Kivu.

"I still can't believe you're getting married." Shifu said.

"I know." Kivu said. "It took a few tries to convince Nemesis, but it worked out."

"What's Nemesis like?" Shifu asked.

"Well, she's the goddess of revenge." Kivu said. "But she mostly stands for balance. Don't _ever _get her angry, unless you want to be reduced to a puddle of goo." Shifu gulped, and Kivu laughed. "She usually likes to stay in human form, and she's a good friend as long as you're on her good side." Shifu and Kivu chuckled, and Shifu found himself staring up and the stars. He couldn't stop thinking about Lin, and he sighed. Kivu seemed to read his mind.

"Thinking about Yin and Yang?" he asked.

"Yeah." Shifu said. "Mostly Lin." Even though Lin's real name was Yin, Shifu always called her Lin.

"You miss her a lot, don't you?" Kivu asked.

Shifu had a pained look when he said, "Yes." Kivu smiled.

"You know, I invited her to the wedding."

Shifu's eyes widened and he stared at Kivu, who laughed.

"Are you serious?!" Shifu cried.

"Absolutely." Kivu assured. "I invited Lin, Daiyu, Destiny, even Narrisa."

"Oh that can't be good." Shifu muttered. They laughed.

Shifu was excited now. He was finally going to see Lin again.

He couldn't wait.

A/N: First chapter up and ready! Read and Review! Kivu, thanks for the idea. RPO, you, too.


	2. Nemesis' Home

_Long chapter alert_

Chapter Two- Nemesis' Home

_Shifu walked down a beach, the waves lapping at the shore. The beach would've been perfect, except the sand, rocks, and even the ocean water was black, and dark storm clouds were gathering in the sky. Shifu was skeptical; whenever he had dreams like this, they never ended well. _

"_Shifu…." _

_Shifu jumped at a voice in the wind. He looked around and was horrified to see Lin wounded in the sand ahead of him. He rushed to the large dragon. Lin was in her full grown form, and that made her wounds even more terrifying looking to Shifu. She was covered in scratches. Her horns were chipped. Her breath came out ragged and labored. Lin clenched her teeth against the obvious pain she was in. _

"_Lin?" Shifu asked, standing next to the dragon's head. "What happened?"_

_Lin groaned. "Shifu…." Her voice was still that of a child's, despite being full grown. "Shifu……great danger…..waits……you mustn't……use the powers……"_

"_What powers?" Shifu asked. _

"_The powers…..that….can kill…..the user…." Lin gasped. "Great……danger…….demon…..approaches…" She snarled, as though remembering something unpleasant. "Help me." Lin went out like a light and she dissolved into the sand. _

"_Wait!" Shifu shouted. "Lin! What are you talking about?"_

"_Shifu…."_

"_Lin!" Shifu ran down the beach, searching for his dragon._

"_Shifu…."_

"_Lin!"_

"Shifu!"

Shifu woke up with a gasp. He panted, staring at his surroundings. Po was standing over him, and he was lying on the floor of the wagon.

"What happened?" Shifu asked.

"You were shouting in your sleep." Po said. "Completely scared us to death. Plus, we're at Nemesis' temple."

*****

Everyone was confused by the temple.

It was made of simple stone, and no bigger than the Hall of Warriors. Columns stood outside the building, and the only thing secure about the place was an iron door in the front.

Nonetheless, Kivu landed next to the building. After everyone had gotten off the wagon, the horses and wagon suddenly disappeared. Kivu and Shinjitsu led the seven warriors to the iron door. Kivu unlocked the bolt and opened the door, revealing only darkness. But everyone stepped inside and Kivu shut and locked the door behind them. Nobody could see a thing until Shinjitsu shouted, "Mother! I'm home!" Then, the place came to life.

It was beautiful, even though it was just a long hallway with a bunch of doors on either side. The walls were glittering with gold and beautiful flowers made of diamonds. The doors were all different colors, designs, and materials, which were "supposed to match whatever's in there", according to Shinjitsu. On elaborate bronze pedestals between the doors were beautifully designed clay vases that were overflowing with roses. But not just any roses. No, _these _roses had stems made of emeralds, thorns of obsidian, and petals made of different kinds of gems. Some were amethyst, some were emeralds to match the stems, others were diamonds, and still others were rubies. So many colors that Po almost fell over from the headache he was getting. The ceiling was smooth and the color of the moon. Chandeliers in weird shapes served as lights. The chandeliers were shaped like Phoenixes, centaurs, Pegasus, dragons, and so much more. Po was especially freaked out by the one that looked like the Hydra.

Shinjitsu smiled and stood in front of the awed group of warriors. "You like it?" she asked. Everyone nodded. "Now, one of the most important things to remember is that there is _no _stealing from this place under any circumstances." Everyone nodded understandably, scared by what might happen. "Good. Now come on! I want you to meet my mother!" Everyone followed the excited nymph as she led them down the long corridor. They passed by so many doors that Po lost count at fifteen after being drawn to a door with large Greek lettering on it. The door was made of marble edged with gold. The doorknob was made of pure gold with the picture of a chef's hat on it.

Shinjitsu laughed when she saw this. "It's the kitchen, Po." She told the panda. "Don't worry; you'll be spending a lot of time in there." Po, happy with this, followed the others as they continued. As they walked, Shinjitsu explained what some of the doors were.

"That one is the bathhouse." She explained, pointing to a copper-colored door that had the picture of a bar of soap on the doorknob. "On each door is the Greek writing for what's in it. For your sakes, your rooms' will be written in Chinese." Shinjitsu continued explaining the doors. That was a closet for coats, this one was a playhouse for babysitting kids, and another was a garden. Finally, Shinjitsu reached seven doors that were closer together than the others. These doors were stable doors, each of them bright red and decorated with delicately carved golden creatures.

The first door had a dragon on it. The second, a Phoenix. Third, a Pegasus. Fourth, a mermaid. Fifth, a hippocampus. Sixth, a kraken. The last door had a Sphinx.

"Each of these doors is rooms." Shinjitsu said. "You've already been paired up with a roommate and will be sharing these rooms while you're here. That last door is my mother's." Shinjitsu pointed to the last door. It was made of solid gold, with a bronze carving of a scale on it.

"Now, I believe you should see who else is here." Kivu said slyly. Shinjitsu nodded.

"Guys!" she called, banging on a couple of the doors. "They're here!"

Immediately, the top halves of the Dragon, Phoenix, Pegasus, and Sphinx rooms opened and the people inside peeked out. Kiki peeked out of the Dragon room, Destiny and Narrisa out of the Phoenix room, Tai Lung and Mei out of the Pegasus room, and Lin and Daiyu out of the Sphinx room. Once they saw the others, they ran out to meet them. Lin and Daiyu had shrunk themselves to dragon hatchling so that they may fit inside the small corridor. Everyone was excited to see each other, and Lin was so excited to see her Baba that she tackled the poor red panda to the floor.

After a heartfelt reunion between Shifu and Lin, Tai Lung, Mei, Destiny, Narrisa, Kiki, Daiyu, and Lin went back to their rooms and Shinjitsu showed the others their rooms. Shinjitsu paired up Tigress and Viper and put them in the Hippocampus room. Monkey and Mantis were paired up in the Kraken room. Po and Crane were stuck in the Mermaid room. Po was _not _happy about it at all, but Crane didn't seem to mind.

Shifu was last. "This is your room." Shinjitsu told him, opening the door to the Dragon room. "You'll be with Kiki." Shifu walked in and thanked Shinjitsu. "Now don't be late for dinner. It's at five o'clock sharp, and it'll be in the door that looks like….you know, I'll just have a Chinese translation under the Greek words. Have fun!" With that, Shinjitsu and Kivu left, giving Shifu the chance to look around.

Each of the guest rooms had a different design that matched the creature on the door. The walls in the Dragon room were sky blue with dragons of all colors darting between the clouds. There were two dressers at one end of the room and two large beds at the other. The bed frames were golden with dragons curled around the posts. The mattress was quite thick, and the pillows were made of purple silk. The covers were red and gold striped with the Chinese character for Dragon on it.

Shifu sighed with content. Kiki was already there, jumping up and down on her bed. Her unpacked bag lay next to one of the dressers and her bow and quiver full of arrows were leaning against her bed. The little cheetah cub smiled and jumped off her bed at the sight of her grandfather.

"Hi, Yeye!" she cried, giving him a hug. Shifu embraced her as well.

"It's good to see you, too." He chuckled.

"Can you believe Kivu's getting married?" Kiki questioned as she lay on her bed. Shifu sat cross-legged on his.

"I know." Shifu said. "It's wonderful for him."

"Did you ever get married?" Kiki asked

Shifu's face fell. "I was about to…..before my fiancé died."

"Oh..." Kiki's face fell, too. "Sorry."

"It's alright." Shifu told her. They sat in silence for a long time.

Then, Kiki piped up, "We should be getting to dinner." Shifu glanced at the sundial between their beds and noticed it was almost five. But there weren't any windows, so how could there be a single shadow? The room was lit up with little, light-up dragons that floated about the room.

"It's magic." Shifu muttered in realization. Kiki smiled and nodded, leading her Yeye out the room. Everyone else must've been gone, because their rooms were quiet. Kiki led Shifu down the hallway, obviously knowing where she was going. They stopped outside a door that had the words, "Dining Hall" in Chinese beneath the Greek words. The door was made of white painted wood and glass panes. The doorknob was brass with the picture of a table on it.

"These doorknobs sure are weird, huh?" Kiki commented. Shifu chuckled in approval and they walked in. the Dining Hall was very elegant. The walls were decorated with golden flower designs against a deep green paint. The carpet was extremely soft and the color of fresh cream. The table was made simply of wood, but it shined from polishing. The dishware and silverware was some of the prettiest china you ever laid eyes on. The chairs matched the table with soft black cushions on the seat and the back of the chairs.

Everyone else was there except for Po. Shifu and Kiki sat down near the head of the table, where Kivu and Shinjitsu sat across from each other. Everyone was chatting when Po suddenly burst in. Everyone stared at the panda.

"Sorry…." He panted. "Got lost….."

"Just sit down." Shinjitsu said. "My mother should be arriving any minute, and then we'll eat." Po smiled and sat down, making the chair creak slightly. Everyone went back to talking. Shifu turned to Shinjitsu, who was right next to him.

"So, your mother's alright?" Shifu asked.

"Yeah." Shinjitsu said. "She's really awesome. Except when she's mad. You should've seen her when I was grounded at Dai's house; you wouldn't _believe _the tongue-lashing she gave me."

"What'd you do?" Shifu laughed.

"Well….."

"She made the entire temple nearly explode."

Everyone hushed and turned as Nemesis stepped thru the door.

Nemesis was very beautiful in her human form. Her skin was fair and flawless. Her hair was black, like Shinjitsu's, but hers was long and flowed smoothly down her back. She wore a beautiful, yet simple, long sleeved black dress that was cuffed with gold. She also wore a golden circlet in her hair, as though she were a princess in a tiara. Shinjitsu had her mother's golden eyes. Nemesis smiled broadly, showing off her perfectly straight, white teeth.

Everyone stood up and bowed to the goddess, even Shinjitsu. "Friends." Nemesis said. "Please sit." Everyone obeyed. "Thank you all for coming. I am grateful you were all able to make it. I hope you enjoyed seeing my palace. I only accept the best for myself, my daughter, my guests, and…" Nemesis gave Kivu a smiled. "…my new son-in-law. Let us eat!" Nemesis waved her hand, and the food appeared on the table with a puff of smoke and a _POP! _Unfortunately, there was a lot of food, so there was also a lot of smoke. Everyone except Nemesis was coughing.

"Mom….." Shinjitsu whined as she coughed. "Easy on the smoke."

"Sorry." Nemesis smiled as she sat down.

Eventually, the smoke cleared and everyone ate. Po tried not to gorge himself out of respect. Shifu was really quite thankful for that. Dinner took up several hours, and dessert was about another hour or so. In fact, it was almost ten o'clock before everyone went to bed.

"Shifu…."

Shifu turned and saw Nemesis down the hallway. She gestured for him to stay back. Shifu wove his way thru the others as they went to bed. The old master walked up to Nemesis, who looked sad.

"Is something wrong?" Shifu asked.

"I was talking with the Dragon Warrior a minute ago." Nemesis replied. "He told me you had a dream on the way to my temple. Would you please describe it?" Shifu was wary, but he described Nemesis his dream about Lin and the dragon's warning. Nemesis cursed in Ancient Greek.

"Do you know what they mean?" Shifu asked.

"No." Nemesis said sadly. "But I worry for my daughter."

"She'll be fine." Shifu assured. "No doubt she'll be spending a lot of time with the rest of the girls."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" Nemesis asked.

"Tigress, Viper, and Mei are very strong kung fu warriors." Shifu said. "And Kiki knows how to use that bow of hers in more ways than one. Lin and Daiyu can tear any attacker to pieces, and Destiny and Narrisa know magic." That made Nemesis look relieved, and she bid the kung fu master goodnight before going to her room to sleep. Shifu went to his room and fell asleep within a few minutes.

A/N: For those who don't know, Yeye is grandfather in Chinese.


	3. Marriage

_Another long chapter because this includes the marriage._

Chapter Three- Marriage

The next morning, Shifu woke up drowsy and nearly dead tired. He had another nightmare last night, and had woken up in a cold sweat. It had taken him a few hours to fall back asleep. As he rubbed his eyes, he noticed that there was an extra quilt on the bed.

"Odd." He muttered.

"Shinjitsu put that there." Kiki said as she came in thru the door. She had bathed and dressed in loose pants and a red vest that was identical to Tigress'. "You must've looked cold to her." Shifu remembered that the room was pretty chilly at night without the light up dragons on. But he was also pretty shaken by his dream.

"Come on." Kiki said, heading back out the door. "Breakfast is ready, and we have a big day today." That was true; today was the day to plan the wedding.

Shifu got out of bed and dressed quickly before rushing to breakfast. After everyone had gathered and eaten, jobs were handed out. That's when the day got busy.

Po went off with Kivu to the kitchen to plan the dinner after the wedding. Tai Lung, Mei, Monkey, and Crane set up the seating arrangements. Shinjitsu was talking with her mother for a long time. Kiki, Tigress, Mantis, Lin, Daiyu, Destiny, and Narrisa set up the empty room that would be the wedding. They were debating on what it should look like for about an hour before they even started. Shinjitsu said a traditional Greek wedding with a touch of Chinese. Shifu meditated until someone needed him.

After the planning was done, it took another week for everything to be ready. It was five days before the wedding when Kiki suddenly remembered the bride and groom's outfits. Everyone needed to be ready.

So that's what they did all of that day and the next. The girls went with Shinjitsu and the boys with Kivu. Having magic powers came in handy; Shinjitsu, Kivu, and Nemesis created two new rooms full of wedding clothes, one for the boys and the other for the girls.

While everyone else was choosing, Shifu already had an outfit. He had actually planned ahead and had his wedding robes tucked away in his bag. So he went back and forth from the girls and the boys to see how they were doing.

"What do you think?" Tai Lung asked as he turned around. "Too weird?"

"It looks weird anyway." Po said. "I've never seen a warrior like you wear something so formal." Everyone laughed as Tai Lung shot Po a killer glare. Tai Lung had on a pinstriped suit that was navy blue and pink. He immediately went back to the changing room to change.

It was harder for everyone else. Po could hardly find a good outfit that he liked and that fit. Crane was considering whether or not to wear a shirt or not. Mantis couldn't decide whether or not to wear anything since he was so small no one may notice him. All in all, the boys were having trouble. Kivu was having the most trouble, trying to look his best for Nemesis and Shinjitsu. He would've broken down and fallen over had Shifu not helped him out a bit.

In the girl's section, everyone had an easier time. Shinjitsu knew how to make everyone look very nice. She fashioned Tigress, Mei, Kiki, Destiny, and Narrisa with very pretty dresses, though Tigress didn't seem too happy about wearing one. Lin, Daiyu, and Viper were fitted with headdresses since they didn't really wear clothes.

Shinjitsu was last. The girls had a hard time picking a dress that was perfect for the bride-to-be. This one was too elegant, that one too simple, and that made you look like a grandmother.

It took a few hours before Shinjitsu found the perfect dress. By then, it was mid afternoon. So everyone went to have a late lunch and then hang out. Po went back to the kitchen with Kivu and Shinjitsu to make sure the food was still on the Good to Go List. Monkey and Mantis took a nap. The girls, minus Shinjitsu, took one last look at the wedding room to make sure everything was in place. Tai Lung and Crane were put in charge of putting the outfits in bags and writing the names of the owners on the bags.

Shifu walked around, not doing much. He thought about meditating when he his sensitive ears picked up the sound of shouting. He followed the sound until he found himself walking towards Nemesis' door. He walked slower, listening intently.

"Why not?!" a man inside shouted.

"Because I do not wish to!" Nemesis shouted back. "I am not some concubine!"

"I never said that!" the man cried. His voice softened. "I respect you greatly for your wisdom, beauty, and kindness."

"I'll show you the full extent of my kindness." Nemesis regarded coldly. "Once you leave my temple and don't come back till _after _my daughter's wedding."

"I don't believe your daughter should be marrying this…._Kivu…._" the man hissed, spitting out Kivu's name like it was poison. "You realized he was the son of the evil sorcerer Dai, correct?"

"I know." Nemesis said. "But it was not by blood. Besides, I've gotten to know Kivu over these last six months, and I trust him."

"But don't you trust me?" the man pleaded.

Nemesis' voice went angry again. "I'll not do it!"

The man's voice was filled with rage. "You will regret this! I swear it!"

Shifu was a few feet from the door when it suddenly burst open. The man that had been shouting slammed it shut behind him. The man was tall; with deathly pale skin it was almost white. His hair was long and straight. He wore strange black robes that looked sinister and dark. When the man scowled at Shifu, his black eyes bore straight thru the master, giving him a cold and bad feeling and making the fur on his neck bristle in fear. The man walked off, and Shifu stared after him, not taking his eyes off the man's back until he walked out the front door, slamming it behind him. Shifu turned back to Nemesis' door and saw the goddess standing there. She gave Shifu a soft smile.

"Sorry you had to see that." Nemesis apologized. "That was Hades, the Greek lord of the dead."

"What'd he want?" Shifu asked, still shaken by Hades' murderous glared.

"Nothing." Nemesis said. "Just…..nothing." Nemesis disappeared into her room. Shifu thought about pestering her, but Shinjitsu suddenly ran up to him.

"I'm glad I caught you." She panted a little. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What's that?" Shifu inquired. Shinjitsu looked around for a moment before grabbing Shifu's paw and leading him down the corridor to a door covered in vines with a sign that read "Garden". Shinjitsu pulled Shifu in and shut the door quietly behind her. The two of them walked thru the garden, and Shifu stared in awe. It was full of thousands of flowers, trees, and plants. Butterflies and wild birds fluttered about. Shifu and Shinjitsu stopped at a small pool and sat down on some rocks. Koi fish swam about in the pool.

"What's this about?" Shifu asked.

"Have you ever gotten married?" Shinjitsu asked.

"What?"

"Kiki told me about your fiancé, and how she died before you got married."

Shifu sighed. He told Shinjitsu about Yuki, and how they were planning to be married before she was murdered. Shinjitsu sighed.

"I'm sorry." She said. "And I want to help."

"How?" Shifu asked. Shinjitsu may be powerful, but she can't raise the dead, can she?

"Walk with me." Shinjitsu said.

"Excuse me?" Shifu was taken aback.

"Walk with me down the aisle at my wedding." Shinjitsu said. "I'm supposed to be walking with my dad, but he was a mortal that died years ago. I have no other siblings. I want _you _to walk with me."

"Oh…no…" Shifu politely refused. "I couldn't…"

"Do it…." Shinjitsu insisted. "Or I'll turn you into a mouse."

"So now you're threatening me into it?" Shifu guessed. Shinjitsu nodded. "Fine; I'll do it." Shinjitsu nearly squealed and hugged Shifu.

"Thank you." She whispered.

*****

A few days later, it was time.

It was the day of the wedding.

Everyone got up early to prepare. The boys went into the boys' dress room to change, the girls in their own. Shinjitsu and Kivu were in their own rooms getting ready. Shifu dressed in his own room. Thankfully, there were no windows, and Kiki was getting dressed with the rest of the girls. Shifu pulled on his wedding robes and studied himself in the mirror.

The robes he was wearing were supposed to be for his own wedding. Yuki had made it herself. The robe was gold cuffed with jade. The sash was black. Shifu turned to see the red colored dragon on the back. Shifu smiled. He may not be wearing it to _his _wedding, but to walk with Shinjitsu at _her _wedding was fine with him. To finish off the look, Shifu took out his werewolf necklace and put it on. Perfect. The wolf's head was glinting slightly in the light, and the chain was glinting a bit as well. Shifu smiled more broadly.

_Creak._

Shifu's smiled faded quickly as he spun around. The room was deathly silent. But everyone knew that Shifu's ears could never fail unless he had an ear infection, and Shifu knew how to take extremely good care of his ears. Shifu warily walked forward, ready to fight. But there was nothing. Shifu was still worried, and he rushed down the hallway to Shinjitsu's room. He knocked hard.

"Come in!" came Shinjitsu's singsong reply. Shifu walked in saw Shinjitsu alright and putting the finishing touches on her dress. "What's up?"

"I just thought something was trying to attack me." Shifu said. "So I came to make sure you're alright. Apart from that, it's almost time."

"You want to help me?" Shinjitsu asked. "The zipper's stuck." Shifu blushed underneath his fur, but Shinjitsu didn't notice. Shifu walked up to Shinjitsu and awkwardly helped pull up the zipper on her dress. Shifu looked at her in the mirror and smiled.

Shinjitsu's dress was pure white. It had one strap that covered her entire shoulder and a single spaghetti strap on her other shoulder. There was a sort of strap below the breast line. Shifu helped Shinjitsu pin a faux white flower in her hair and clip in her veil. Shinjitsu stood back for Shifu's evaluation. "How do I look?"

"Beautiful." Shifu said. Suddenly, Kiki burst into the room. The little flower girl had on a little, short-sleeved, red satin, knee-length dress and a ringlet of roses on her head like a crown. She smiled from ear to ear.

"It's time!" she cried as she ran off.

*****

Everyone waited anxiously in the wedding room. It was very beautiful. The walls were sky blue with columns lining them. The walls weren't painted, but instead tiled with blue topaz gems. The columns glittered from the studded quartz crystals. The floor was tiled with many different gems that were multiple shades of blue; blue topaz, sapphires, aquamarine….and so many more. Put together, they made a sort of water/wave design. The pews were made of solid bronze studded with pearls. Little pink gems called garnets made little flower designs on the ends. There was no alter, but instead a large archway with a gold banner hanging from it. On the banner was the Chinese character for "Love" with the Greek translation underneath it. The ceiling was glass pane windows studded with emeralds with golden sunlight flowing thru. Between the columns around the room were statues of Greek heroes, each one made from a different gem. A Hercules statue was made of fire opals. There was a Perseus statue made of azurite. There was even a jade statue of Master Oogway, even though he wasn't Greek. Two large Pegasus, one made of black opals and the other made of white opals, seemed to guard the door with their wings spread.

Everyone inside the church looked nice as well. Po managed to find a nice, solid black suit that actually fit him. Tai Lung wore a navy blue suit and a purple tie. Monkey, Crane, and Mantis each had matching black suits and shirts. Crane had cleaned up his hat a bit before wearing that as well. Tigress wore a pink silk dress, but she didn't look very happy about having it on. When Po started teasing her about it, she threatened to make his eyes match his suit, if you know what I mean. Narrisa and Destiny wore matching dresses the color of grass in the spring. Mei wore a strapless dress the color of fire. Lin, Daiyu, and Viper each wore pretty headdresses.

Kivu stood by Nemesis, who was the priest for the wedding. He wore loose white pants and a puffy white shirt that made him look like a pirate. Nemesis wore a dress as black as night with a belt and collar as golden as the sun. Kivu looked nervous.

"Relax." Nemesis laughed. "This is your big day."

"I know." Kivu said. "But I'm worried I'll mess up."

"Just do as I tell you." Nemesis replied curtly.

Kiki suddenly appeared between the Pegasus at the door. "Here they come!"

Nemesis snapped her fingers and an invisible piano started playing. Everyone stood up and turned to the door, anxiously awaiting the lucky bride and her escort.

Shinjitsu and Shifu came walked in, Shinjitsu holding a bouquet of roses with jade for stems and thorns and petals made of abalone shells. Kivu couldn't stop staring at her, the lovesick zebra-disguised-as-a-nymph he was. Shinjitsu whispered a thank you to Shifu before standing beside Kivu before Nemesis. Shifu moved into the aisle and sat down with everyone else, next to Destiny.

The wedding began with Nemesis reciting several prayers in Greek. At the ending to the last prayer, she had Shinjitsu and Kivu hold hands. Shinjitsu handed her flowers off to Kiki and grasped her lover's hands. They held them that way for the rest of the ceremony. After Nemesis had finished the prayers, she made two flower crowns appear out of thin air. These crowns were actually ringlets of daisies with gold coins for centers and abalone shells for petals. As Nemesis continued the ceremony, the crowns switched places among the couple's heads three times. Then, it was drinking wine from a cup three times. The next part was what Kiki loved the best: the part where the couple and everyone around them are pelted with rice, which Nemesis made appear. Kiki managed to get Nemesis right in the face, despite the goddess using a Bible to dodge the assault. When the rice ordeal was over, Nemesis removed the crowns from Kivu and Shinjitsu's heads and broke their hand bonds with her Bible.

The wedding was over.

"Congratulations." Nemesis said. "You are officially married."

*****

The party afterwards was amazing.

Nemesis used her magic to clear out the church room for the party. Everyone talked, laughed, and (mostly in Po's case) ate and drank. Everyone kept congratulating the happy couple, who walked arm in arm the entire time. The party must've lasted for seven hours straight before everybody went to bed, dead tired. Except for Kiki, Shifu, and Lin. Lin and Kiki were hyped up on a sugar rush, and Shifu was used to staying up late. Po had left for bed early; he had drunk too much wine and left, saying he felt sick. When Viper went to check on him, she returned and said simply, "He threw up."

Shifu sat on his bed, meditating. Kiki was in Lin and Daiyu's room, playing. Shifu still hadn't changed out of his wedding outfit. He was feeling a bit too lazy to do so. Then, somebody knocked on his door. "Come in." he called.

Shinjitsu waltzed into the room, humming happily. She had long since changed from her wedding dress to a silky black nightgown. The nymph hopped onto Shifu's bed, smiling.

"Thanks for walking with me." She said.

"Think nothing of it." Shifu said. "Thank _you _for making me a part of it."

Shinjitsu smiled. "You're the best." She said. "Thanks again. Goodnight." She brushed the stray rice grains off his head and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she walked out, her hips swaying. Shifu smirked and chuckled. Then Mei came into the room, holding a sleeping Kiki in her arms. She put her daughter to bed before wishing Shifu a goodnight and leaving. Shifu glanced at Kiki, who had her flower crown tilted cutely on the side of her head. Shifu got under the covers and fell asleep the minute his eyes shut.

A/N: Thank you soooooo much RPO for the gem colors! And I know it's not _exactly _like a tradition Greek wedding, but I tried my best. Read and Review!


	4. A Vision

Chapter Four- A Vision

A scream pierced the night.

Shifu woke up with a start, jumping off the bed and transforming to a werewolf as he hit the floor. His reddish-brown fur stood on end. The scream rang out once more, and Shifu noticed the door wide open. He rushed out to the corridor, surprised that even Kiki wasn't awake. Nobody seemed to hear the ear splitting scream. Shifu listened and heard voices coming from the Phoenix Room, where Destiny and Narrisa were staying. Shifu warily walked over and scratched the door.

"Come in!" Narrisa called. Shifu went back to his normal form and slipped inside. Narrisa looked up in surprise. "You heard us?"

"Of course I did." Shifu replied. "Why couldn't everyone else?"

Narrisa cursed in African. "I put a spell on the room so no one would hear us, but I forgot that it doesn't affect creatures like you." When Shifu gave her a quizzical look, she added, "Non-magical; you're a werewolf." Shifu nodded in understanding. He suddenly jumped when the scream rang out once more. Narrisa returned her attention to the bed she was hanging over. Shifu realized with a shock that Narrisa was holding down Destiny, who writhed and recoiled as though she were in pain.

"Help me!" Narrisa hissed. "She's having a vision; and a bad one at that." Shifu, too shocked to refuse, rushed to Destiny's side and held her down by her arm. Destiny snarled and screamed.

"What's happening?" Shifu demanded.

"She's having a vision." Narrisa said. "You know how she is the controller of fates? Sometimes something will happen that she can't control, and she'll have a vision about it. It must be something bad if she's like this."

"How can something happen and she not controls it?" Shifu questioned.

"The gods will do something and create a spell so that Destiny can't control what happens." Narrisa said. "But very few gods know how to do this." Narrisa suddenly lost her grip on Destiny's other arm. The king cheetah suddenly swung her arm, narrowly missing Shifu's face. Narrisa grabbed Destiny's arm once more and held it down.

That's when Destiny's eyes opened. They were glowing gold. Narrisa glared hard.

"Destiny." She whispered. "Sister, speak to me. What is thy vision?"

Destiny calmed down suddenly, her breathing labored. "A god…..has been refused……a loss….for a mother……and father….." She hissed slightly before continuing. "….a sorcerer….no more……a power…..to dangerous…..to use…….a death…..to be raised……" Destiny gasped. "…pain……so much…..pain…" Destiny had tears streaming down her face. "Narrisa…..help me…..too much…..pain….."

Narrisa placed her hand on Destiny's forehead and softly spoke a spell. Destiny's eyes stopped glowing and she slept once more. Shifu stared at the sorceress. Narrisa sighed.

"Something bad is going to happen." She murmured.

*****

The next morning, Destiny showed no signs of the previous night. In fact, she acted like it had never happened. When Shifu asked her about the vision, she gave him a weird look.

"She never has any memories of her visions." Narrisa explained to him later that same day. "She doesn't want to remember anything she can't control. Being the controller of fates is a giant honor to her, and she doesn't like to feel like she's failing the gods."

The day dragged on. Everyone lounged around, not doing much. Kivu and Shinjitsu were still around, postponing their honeymoon until everyone had gone home.

Shifu was still shaken pretty badly after the incident with Destiny's vision. But he refused to tell anyone, even when Nemesis asked him numerous times if he was alright. The last thing Shifu wanted was Nemesis worrying about her daughter the very day after the wedding. So the aged master walked around, talking to his students as they passed and playing with Lin and Kiki for a while. Then, he went to his room to meditate for a while.

He opened the door to his room and stopped short.

The room was completely trashed. The dressers had all their drawers pulled out. The dragon lanterns were reduced to broken bits on the floor. The beds had all their blankets torn off and the mattresses were covered in suspicious claw marks. A note was pinned to the wall with a dagger. Shifu warily walked up to it and read it.

"'Consider this a warning.'" He murmured. "What on earth?"

Suddenly, a paw grabbed his shoulder and another covered his mouth, gagging him. Shifu thrust his free hand up to the paw, but the stranger's grip was strong.

"Is he the one?" the stranger's voice whispered.

"Yes." Another voice said. Two figures suddenly appeared in front of Shifu. One was the skeleton of a cat wearing a ninja outfit with two swords strapped to his back. The other was a red panda woman wearing a dark blue kimono. Her eyes were the color of the sky on a clear day. Shifu's eyes widened as he stared at his deceased fiance, Yuki.

The red panda woman growled in her throat. "Let him go!" she ordered.

"Oh, we will." The cat skeleton mused. "_After _you help us do our lord's bidding."

"I'd sooner die." Yuki seethed. "If I wasn't already dead."

"You will help us." The cat said. "Or he dies." The paw on Shifu's shoulder tightened its grip. Yuki seemed at a loss. She stared at her lover with sad eyes.

_Shifu, run the second you get the chance. _She told him with her thoughts.

_Got it. _He replied.

Shifu managed to free himself enough to bite the stranger's hand on his mouth. The stranger yowled with pain and let the old master go.

"Run!" Yuki screamed, hitting the ninja cat away. Shifu obeyed, but the ninja cat caught up to him and slammed the hilt of one of his swords against the back of Shifu's head. Shifu went out like a light, slumping to the floor. Yuki rushed to him, shielding her lover from any further strikes. The cat hissed.

"Leave now." Yuki ordered. "Unless you want Nemesis in here."

"You wouldn't dare." The cat seethed. Suddenly, Yuki started calling for help. The cat cursed, grabbed Yuki, and he and his partner disappeared with her into a portal.

*****

When Shifu woke up, he found himself on his bed, his room completely cleaned as though nothing had happened. Kivu and Shinjitsu were at his bedside. Kiki was asleep in her bed.

"You alright?" Shinjitsu asked.

"Yeah." Shifu grunted. He struggled to sit up. "What happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Kivu retorted. "Shinjitsu and I heard someone yelling, and we come in here to find you unconscious and the room a mess. You've been out for hours." Shifu looked up and saw the dragon lanterns, now fixed, glowing faintly.

"What happened?" Shinjitsu asked. Shifu hesitated.

"Nothing." He said. "Just….."

"You can't hide it." Kivu said. Shifu sighed and told them what happened.

Shinjitsu muttered a curse in Ancient Greek. "We can't let my mother know; she'll flip out."

Kivu nodded. "Shifu, you best be getting to bed." Shifu nodded, realizing that tomorrow was the day everyone went home. Shifu fell asleep and Shinjitsu shut off the dragons. She closed the door quietly behind her and Kivu. The nymph sighed.

"This is bad." She whispered. "No one can break in here."

"It's alright." Kivu promised. "No matter what happens, I'll take care of you." Shinjitsu smiled at her husband and they shared a loving kiss before going to bed.

They didn't see the shadows watching them.

*****

The next morning, there were too many good-byes.

Destiny and Narrisa had disappeared soon after breakfast, saying they had important matters to discuss. Shifu knew that Narrisa wanted to know more about Destiny's vision. Lin and Daiyu left soon after, but not before Lin said a tearful farewell to her father.

"We'll see each other again." She promised Shifu.

All that was left was for Kivu and Shinjitsu to take the Five, Shifu, Po, Tai Lung, Mei, and Kiki home.

"After that, we'll be off to our honeymoon." Kivu told them as they filed into the wagon.

"Yes." Shinjitsu said dreamily. "Off to a beautiful island paradise." Everyone sat down quickly as Kivu snapped the reins on the horses. They took off, Nemesis waving goodbye after them. Po had to vomit from air sickness once more, but he managed to do it in the bucket.

The ride was smooth after that. Kivu and Shinjitsu dropped off Tai Lung, Mei and Kiki at their house before continuing. After a second take off, Po started looking green, despite his fur. Shinjitsu gave him some bread, but he threw that up afterwards.

"Something tells me you're not a flying person." Kivu chuckled.

Po lifted his head out of the bucket, grimacing. "Ya think?!"

Everyone laughed, and Shifu forgot about Destiny's vision and his attack. Kivu and Shinjitsu got to the Jade Palace well after sunset, and Shifu insisted that they stay for the night.

"Thanks." Kivu said. "But we'd best be going; the honeymoon waits!" The Jade Palace warriors wished the couple well as they took off.

"Alright." Shifu said, limping off to his room. "Off to bed." Everyone agreed, yawning; it had been a hectic couple of weeks.

Shifu got to his room and tossed his bad at the foot of his bedroll. He'd put away his wedding robes tomorrow. The old master was about to crash into bed when he noticed a faint glow by his window. Glancing over, he noticed a few petals from the Sacred Peach Tree, glowing slightly. Shifu warily walked over and picked the petals up.

"Is there something wrong, Master?" Shifu whispered. He hadn't talked to Oogway in ages. There was no response, but the petals flew out of his hand. Shifu sighed and went to bed, tired of the riddles.

A/N: Surprise in the next chapter! Can you guess what happens? Enjoy!


	5. Kivu

Chapter Five- Kivu

Life went on, as usual. The Five trained; Po continued his studies in kung fu; Shifu helped them whenever he could.

To Shifu, it was pretty boring after being at Nemesis's place. But it was a relief from the stressful weeks of wedding planning.

One day, a week after they had come home, Zeng came crash landing into the Training Hall, right at Po's feet. Of all the people in the Jade Palace, Po felt the most sorry for the little guy.

"What's up?" he asked the messenger.

"Master…..Shifu….." Zeng huffed. "…needed…..in village……"

Po nodded and told Zeng to take the day off. "Any of you guys know where Shifu is?"

"I last saw him at the peach tree." Tigress replied, dodging a spiked club. Po nodded and ran off. He arrived at the peach tree and saw Master Shifu meditating. The panda bowed to his master before delivering Zeng's message.

"Is it immediate?" Shifu asked.

"Well, Zeng seemed like he was in a hurry to tell you." Po said. Shifu nodded and dismissed his student. Po left for training, and Shifu made his way down to the village. He figured it wasn't much until he noticed something strange. From the top of the steps, he could see almost all of the village; and from where he was standing, he could see that the river looked as solid as glass.

"Something wrong?" Tigress stood next to her master.

Shifu said nothing as he stared at the river. "Come with me." The two warriors journeyed down into the village. At the bridge across the river, a lot of the villagers were standing on the banks, staring at the water as though something were about to come out of it. They parted for the two masters.

"What's wrong?" Shifu demanded. Looking at the water, she and Shifu saw it wasn't moving much.

"Well, I came down here for some water." A villager said. "But when I tried to dip the bucket in…." Then, Tigress slipped on a patch of mud and fell down to the river. But instead of disappearing beneath the surface, Tigress slipped over the top of the river. She unsheathed her claws to get a grip and knocked on the surface.

"It's as hard as ice." She informed. "But it doesn't feel that cold."

Shifu stared at the frozen waters and carefully slid down to his student. Shifu knelt down and inspected the water. It was indeed frozen solid, but it was too warm out; how could the water be like this?

"Master?" Tigress asked. "How can this be?"

Shifu shook his head. "I'm not sure." Shifu stood and walked upriver until he was under the bridge. He stared at the water, which didn't seem any more or less frozen. He tapped the surface with his foot. He knelt down and took out a ninja star he kept tucked away in his sleeve. Stabbing it into the surface, he saw that the river was indeed iced over. The only question: how?

"Master?" Tigress' voice was etched with worry. Looking up, the old master saw the other villagers staring at him curiously.

Shifu opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the chance to say it. A circle of ice melted quickly beneath his feet, and the old master disappeared below the ice. The circle iced over once more, and Shifu was trapped. Tigress rushed over, but, the ice was too thick for her to crack. But she could clearly see her master banging against the ice.

Shifu, below the ice, struggled to get out. He didn't know how far downriver he'd have to go before he'd find some thin ice, but he didn't have the time. Suddenly, a tentacle wrapped around his foot and pulled him down. Tigress could only watch with horror as her master disappeared in the murky depths.

"Get the rest of the Five and the Dragon Warrior!" she ordered. A villager rushed off to do so. "All of you get out of here!" The villagers obeyed; _no one _disobeys Tigress when she's angry.

Meanwhile, Shifu was pulled far down to the bottom of the river, at least twenty feet below the surface. For some reason, the mud had been kicked up, and Shifu could hardly see a thing. He looked down and realized that it wasn't a tentacle around his leg but instead a slimy, five foot long eel. Shifu managed to kick his way out of the eel's grasp and frantically started swimming upwards. But a black chain grabbed his leg. Another grabbed his other leg, and two more latched themselves around his arms. The chains dragged him to the bottom preventing him to move. When he stopped struggling, he saw the skeleton cat again with Yuki tight in his grasp.

"Last chance." The cat told Yuki. "Help us or he drowns."

Yuki struggled out of the cat's grasp, desperate to save her lover from a watery death. At that moment, Shifu's lungs started feeling like they were on fire. If he didn't get up soon enough, he'd drown.

"Answer me, girl!" the cat hissed. Yuki snarled and punched the cat's face, breaking his jaw. The cat hissed and let Yuki go, who started swimming towards Shifu. The cat grabbed her and pulled her back.

"You little…." He seethed.

Suddenly, a foot collided with his skull, and it rolled off into the mud.

Looking up, Yuki saw Tigress swimming thru the water. The cat skeleton's body grabbed his head in one arm and grabbed Yuki with the other. The cat put his head back on and moved in to attack Tigress. But he stopped. Something called him back to the Underworld. He growled and he and Yuki disappeared.

Tigress didn't have long to wonder what happened. She went down deeper and searched for her master. She found him, unconscious among the mud. The chains had disappeared, but Shifu had blacked out after being underwater too long. Tigress grabbed her master and swam up furiously. She broke thru the now thawed out surface with a gasp. Shifu gasped as well, coughing up water. The rest of the Five and Po were on the riverbank. Monkey grabbed Tigress' hand and hauled her and Shifu up. Tigress gently set Shifu on the ground as he spit out the water in his mouth.

"What happened?" Tigress asked. Water dripped from her whiskers. "Who was that?"

"I don't know." Shifu coughed. "But I don't think I want to know." He sneezed.

"Come on." Viper said. "Let's get you two home before you catch a cold." Shifu and Tigress, both still dripping wet, nodded in agreement and they all left. At the palace, the two masters changed, were each given a blanket, and were fed some of Po's soup. Shifu was shivering a lot more than Tigress, seeing how he was underwater a lot longer. His thoughts were swimming.

Twice, now, he had been attacked by the strange skeletal cat that looked and sounded very familiar. Both times, the cat was using him to get Yuki to do what he wanted. Yuki had refused, and she was probably being hurt because of it. Shifu felt terrible, whishing he could've helped.

*****

_Shifu stood in a room of black stone. At one end of the room were two, giant oak doors. On the other side were two thrones. One looked like a daisy, but it was pure black. The other was made of bones fused together. Sitting on the throne was Hades. Standing before him was the skeleton cat and Yuki. _

"_I told you to get the girl." Hades growled. "I gave you permission to use this red panda woman because you told me she'd be able to help. I did not give you permission to get your revenge!"_

_The cat skeleton trembled. "Sir……he-"_

"_Did nothing to you!" Hades roared. "As punishment, you will not go back to the Chinese underworld, but shall be cast into Tartarus for all eternity!" _

"_But……"_

"_It's too late for cries of mercy, __Bā hén!"_ _Hades __regarded coldly. Shifu jumped at the name of the ninja lion that tried to kill him. "Now…….be gone!" The lion screamed with pain as he disappeared. Hades's expression went soft as he turned to Yuki._

"_I deeply apologize." He told her. "I never meant for-"_

"_Save your breath, Lord of the Dead." Yuki interrupted coldly. "I would've lost my husband if it wasn't for you."_

"_He wasn't your husband yet." Hades reminded her._

"_He was close enough!" Yuki screamed. _

"_Alight!" Hades recoiled. "Let me make it up to you; stay here for a week or so. You may spend it in the Isle of the Blest. Just my way of saying sorry."_

_Yuki considered it. "Very well." She walked off, escorted by the ghostly figure of a young tanuki. Hades sighed once she was gone._

"_Skia!" He yelled. "Where is my King of Shadows?"_

_Shifu looked up and saw a cloud of black swirl down and take the shape of an albino ferret with bright red eyes. The ferret wore black leggings, a denim mini skirt, and a black tank top. Hades sighed._

"_Why aren't you in your robes?" he asked._

"_Why do you call me a king when I'm female?" Skia asked. _

"_Never mind." Hades said. "I need you to do me a favor."_

"_I know." Skia said. "You want me to help with your revenge."_

_Hades smiled gruesomely. "Precisely."_

Shifu woke up with a start when he heard a loud banging. It sounded like it was coming from the front doors. At first, Shifu thought it was just the thunder, seeing how there was a mighty storm raging outside. But then it came again, and Shifu decided to investigate. He tossed on a cloak over his white night robe and journeyed outside to the door. The rain poured down, soaking Shifu's cloak and even a bit of him. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. It was like somebody was really angry. Shifu managed to get to the door, which was being pounded on mercilessly.

Somebody wanted to get in badly.

Shifu hesitated at the door. If it was a friend, he'd offer shelter. If it was an enemy, he'd drop kick him to the next dynasty. Shifu opened the door wide……

……and jumped back to avoid being kicked in the face by a horse rearing up in fear.

When the horse had calmed down, Shifu was dumbfounded.

It wasn't a horse, but a zebra.

*****

"What happened?" Shifu asked as he and Kivu sat in the kitchen. The Five and Po were up as well, woken up by the noise of the storm.

Kivu was in pretty bad shape. He was in his zebra form, but his ear was slightly torn and he was covered in tiny scratches, like some demon kitten had attacked him.

"Shinjitsu and I went to an island in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle." Kivu explained.

"But isn't that place monster infested or something?" Po noted.

"Yeah." Kivu chuckled. "It was perfect. We stayed for a couple days when, one evening, something attacked us. It was all such a blur, and one of….whatever attacked us, most likely the leader, put a spell on me, and I was out like a light. When I woke up, Shinjitsu was gone, I had no powers, and I was in my normal form." Kivu's head went down in sadness.

"We'll do what we can to help you." Shifu promised.

Kivu looked uneasy. "Shifu, there's one more thing. When Shinjitsu and I were on our honeymoon, Lin came to visit us. When we were attacked, she fought to protect us."

Shifu was wary, but the next thing Kivu said made him freeze with dread.

"When I woke up," Kivu continued. "Shinjitsu had been taken. But Lin had been kidnapped as well."

A/N: Cliffhangers! Don't you just love them? LOL. Read and Review!


	6. Possibilities

Chapter Six- Possibilities

The next morning, Shifu stayed in his room. Everybody, even Kivu, got up to train as the gong rang. Nobody dared to even approach his room. They just went to the Training Hall to practice.

Kivu showed excellent skills in kung fu, despite being a wild zebra that walks on all fours. Tigress seemed a bit suspicious about the newcomer. Yes, he helped save Shifu from the evil warlock Dai, but Tigress still didn't qualify him as a friend. Plus, she was extremely jealous of Kivu's skill, seeing how he was almost up to her level.

"Question: how did you get here if you don't have any magic?" she inquired.

"I prayed to Nemesis, who sent me a boat." Kivu told her. "After that, I just ran here."

"What did Nemesis say when she found out her daughter was missing?" Po asked.

Kivu sighed. "Remember that storm last night?"

"Yeah." Po said. "Worst storm in years." Today was still cloudy and gray.

"Well, _that _was Nemesis and her grief." Kivu said.

"That storm was Nemesis' doing?" Viper asked. Kivu only nodded.

"She's _extremely _angry." Kivu explained. "She has no idea who could've done it or why."

"Could it have been another god?" Crane asked.

"That's highly unlikely." Kivu retorted. "True, it happened to Persephone, but she was a minor goddess, not powerful enough to defend herself. Shinjitsu is a lot stronger than that. And the fact that they took Lin as well just makes it ten times worse."

Everyone continued to train except Tigress. She was really worried for Lin, seeing how the little dragon had taken her as a mother figure, even giving her the nickname "Tiga". Tigress knew Shifu must've felt really bad as well. Sneaking away from the others, she walked about the palace, searching for places she knew Shifu might be in. But, in every place she looked, he wasn't there. She was about ready to give up when she heard noises. Following the sounds, Tigress realized they were coming from the library. She opened the door quietly and peered in. She saw many books stacked on the table and not a soul could be found. But she could clearly hear pages being turned and soft murmuring. Then, she noticed Shifu getting up from the table and rushing to one of the shelves. He browsed it quickly, then scurried up a ladder and checked the books up top. Since the ladder had wheels, Shifu was able to push off the wall to the other side of the room to the thicker volumes. Shifu scanned the bindings and found something. But, he soon realized it was stuck. He tugged on it with both hands and two things happened:

The book came out. Then

Shifu fell off the ladder and hit the ground with a _CRASH!_

Tigress rushed to her master's side. "You alright?"

Shifu groaned as he stood up. "I'm fine." He blew the dust off the large book he had gotten and set it on the table. He flipped thru it, Tigress watching silently. It was deathly quiet except for the sound of page turning. Then, Shifu growled and slammed the book shut. "There has to be something!" he snarled.

"What are you talking about?" Tigress asked.

"Nothing." Shifu muttered.

"Don't shut me out." Tigress scoffed. "You're looking for something and I want to know why. I can help." Shifu turned away. "You were looking for something to save Lin, aren't you?"

You could've heard a pin drop, it was so quiet then. Shifu sighed. "Yes. Apart from you, she was a daughter to me."

Tigress sighed as well. "She was my daughter, too." Shifu didn't even turn around. "Are you sure there isn't something you already know that can help her and Shinjitsu?"

"There is one thing." Shifu said. "But it's suicidal. That's why I'm looking thru these books; there has to be some sort of…..spell or something that I've forgotten." Shifu went back to the shelves, searching thru scrolls. Tigress stared at him.

"Were you up all night?" she asked.

"No." Shifu said. "But I've been looking all morning."

"Well…..I'm just…..going to go back to training." Tigress started to walk off, but Shifu stopped her.

"Tigress….I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Kivu about this." Shifu warned her. "I don't want him to get his hopes up." Tigress nodded and walked off.

That night, at dinner, it was pretty quiet. Kivu was having a hard time eating without being embarrassed by the fact that he didn't have fingers, just hooves; he was just dipping his head into the bowl to eat. Shifu didn't join them; he was still in the library. Nobody talked much except for a couple half-hearted good night bids when they went to bed.

Kivu was in a spare bedroom, and he had a dream that night.

_Kivu was walking in what looked like a Kansas wheat field. But the wheat, dirt, even the sky above him was pitch black. Seeing no stars but instead stalactites, Kivu realized it was a cave ceiling. He kept walking, passing nobody except for a group of children who stared at him with hunger in their eyes. Kivu kept going, not knowing where he was going in the first place. Soon, he found himself at a small fountain. It was pitch black stone, with a serpent's head spewing mist. There was a bit of a rainbow showing, but there was no sunlight, so Kivu was left wondering how it was possible. Then, he saw a scene in the colors of the soft rainbow. He looked closer and watched what was taking place._

_What was taking place was a great battle…..between three people. Kivu recognized Shinjitsu and Lin, both of them looking pretty beaten up. The third person was an albino ferret that Kivu didn't recognize. The albino ferret was fighting the nymph and the dragon hard, using some sort of magic that looked like fire bending, but the fire was black. Shinjitsu was desperately trying to use her magic to defend herself. Lin, who would usually only use her horns, claws, and teeth for defense, was attacking like a wild animal. Though the girls fought hard, the albino ferret launched a powerful blast of dark magic. The girls were enveloped in twin cocoons of the black fire, both struggling to break free. _

_The albino ferret started speaking in Ancient Greek. She may have been speaking a language Kivu was fluent in, but the zebra had no idea what she was saying. When the ferret was done, the cocoons disappeared. Lin and Shinjitsu were out cold._

_The albino ferret smirked. "You two are such strong warriors." She sighed. "It's such a shame that you'll have to die." The ferret snapped her fingers, and shadows swirled around them in a large tornado._

Kivu woke with a start, panting. His eyes were wide with what he had just seen. Then, there was a knock on the door.

"Kivu?" Master Shifu's voice called. "You alright?"

"Fine." Kivu said. "Come on in." Shifu walked in and the two of them stared at each other for a long time.

"Is something wrong?" Kivu finally asked.

"I heard you scream." Shifu said. Kivu looked away. "You had a dream, didn't you? A dream about Shinjitsu."

Kivu sighed and told Shifu about his dream. Shifu stared off into space.

"What does it mean?" Kivu asked. "Do you know where Shinjitsu might be?"

"With what you're describing, I can't say." Shifu admitted.

Kivu gave Shifu a look. "You know how to save her, don't you?"

Shifu sighed. "We'll talk tomorrow."

"I've checked every book, searched every memory, meditated for hours, but I couldn't find anything." Shifu said.

"Anything except the one thing you don't want to use." Kivu reminded him.

Shifu sighed. "I don't want to use it. It's too dangerous."

"Shifu." Kivu said. "I'm desperate here. You're talking to a guy that just lost the one he loves. I know it's hard, but try to understand that-"

"Hard?" Shifu snarled. "You think I've never felt the pain you're feeling? I lost the woman I love scarcely a month after I proposed. I'll _never _see her again until the day I die."

There was an eerie silence, so quiet you could hear the Five and Po training in the distance.

Kivu sighed this time. "I'm serious about the desperate part."

Shifu turned to him, his anger melting. "There is a power." He explained. "A power like no other. It is said that Yin and Yang stand for balance. Generally, it's the balance between darkness and light. There is, a spell, I guess you could call it, which releases this power and can be used for anything you wish. It can turn you into royalty; cure any sickness or injury…"

"It can save Shinjitsu and Lin." Kivu guessed.

"Yes."

"So, what's so bad about it?"

"It's extremely dangerous." Shifu told him. "In order to do the spell properly, you must keep the forces of light and dark in balance. If the scale is tipped either way even the slightest, the consequences would be disastrous."

"How so?" Kivu asked.

"Instant death." Shifu replied gravely. There was a deathly silence.

"Are you sure there's not another way?" Kivu asked.

Shifu thought for a long time. "Death….." he muttered.

"What?"

"Describe the setting of your dream." Shifu ordered. Kivu obeyed, and Shifu's eyes brightened ever so slightly. "I think I know where the girls are."

"Where?" Kivu asked.

"The Underworld." Shifu said. "And, from what you're suggesting, the Greek Underworld."

A/N: I'm soooooo sorry I haven't updated in a while! I've been SUPER busy! I'll be updating a lot more over the summer.


	7. Journey to the Underworld

Chapter Seven- Journey to the Underworld

"So, let me get this straight: you and Kivu are going down into the Underworld aka the "Land-full-of-dead-people"." Po said

"Yep." Shifu said.

"To rescue Lin and Shinjitsu."

"You bet."

"And find out why they were kidnapped."

"That sums it about up."

"I do have one question." Po added. "Are you nuts?"

"Po, I can't just sit back and do nothing." Shifu told the panda. "Lin was my responsibility from the moment she hatched to the second she left."

"And Shinjitsu's my wife." Kivu added. "I'm not leaving her."

"Don't you realize how dangerous this is?" Tigress asked. "At least let one of us join you."

"Absolutely not." Shifu barked.

"Shifu's right." Kivu agreed. "I've been to the Underworld before, and it isn't pretty."

"I can't imagine how a land full of ghosts can be pretty at all." Po remarked. Tigress hit the panda upside the head, giving him the painful hint that told him, "Shut up!"

As Po rubbed his sore cranium, Kivu continued, "We won't be gone too long. We'll go to Hades and ask him to help us. If Shinjitsu and Lin are in his domain, he'll be able to find them in the blink of an eye."

"We'll be back before you know it." Shifu assured.

"What if you die?" Po asked. Tigress hit him again. "Ow!"

"If we're not back in a month, we're dead." Kivu joked. He and Shifu left, with nothing except Kivu's medicine bag and Shifu's flute.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

"So, how are we getting in?" Shifu asked.

"There's a gate around here somewhere." Kivu told him. "I used it once."

"Care to tell me why you were in the Underworld?" Shifu asked.

"Don't ask." Kivu said. "I was running an errand and it went wrong. I'd like to not talk about it." They continued their journey in silence. Both of them worried greatly for the girls, and Shifu was starting to gain a habit of fingering his flute with anxiety. Soon, Kivu stopped.

"Here we are." He said.

Shifu gave him a weird look. "We're standing in front of a bunch of rocks." And so they were.

"It's not a bunch of rocks." Kivu retorted. "It's the Gate of Orpheus. Years ago, a great musician named Orpheus lost his wife, Eurydice. He charmed Hades and Persephone into letting him take her back. He wasn't allowed to look at Eurydice until they were both out of the Underworld. But, alas, Orpheus looked back at the last second, and Eurydice was gone forever. These gates are the exact same that he used. To open them, we need music."

"Is that why you told me to bring my flute?" Shifu asked.

"Well, you also said it made a good walking staff." Kivu countered.

Shifu sighed. "What do I play?"

"Something good." Kivu ordered. "The best piece you know. We need the best in order for the gates to open."

"Why?" Shifu asked.

"Orpheus was the greatest musician in the world." Kivu smiled. "If his music was like kung fu, he'd match you in strength."

"That good, huh?"

"Yep."

Shifu chuckled. He thought about a song he knew. It had to be quick, though. He played a short, but bright and happy melody. But, once the song was done, nothing had happened.

"That was _really _the best you had?" Kivu remarked.

"I thought that if I played something happy, it'd work." Shifu said.

"But was it your best?" Kivu asked.

Shifu sighed. "No." He thought hard. Then, he remembered something. "I do know one song. But…..it's a bit sad."

"Orpheus was sad when he lost his wife forever." Kivu reminded. "Surely, this will work."

Shifu sighed and nodded. He played his flute again. This time, the melody was soft and willowy. But it sounded just the smallest bit sad. However, it worked. A boulder rolled away, revealing a large opening into darkness. Shifu stopped playing and sighed.

"It worked." He muttered.

"What song was that?" Kivu asked.

"A song I wrote for Yuki." Shifu said. "The day I first met her."

"Oh." Kivu said. He cleared his throat. "Well, we'd best be off." Shifu only nodded and the two of them descended into the Underworld. The door closed behind them. But they were only in pitch blackness for a split second before torches along the walls lit up, leading a pathway downwards.

"Ready?" Kivu asked.

"As I'll ever be." Shifu asked.

They walked down. The torches did a pretty fine job of giving some light, but it still gave Shifu shivers up his spine. He hadn't been in the Underworld a full five minutes, and he already was freaked out. Kivu and Shifu traveled along for about ten minutes before arriving at a river. There was a small boat and a boatman there, but nothing much else. The waters were eerie green, the sand was black, and the boatman was dressed in gray robes and had a pole with him. Kivu and Shifu walked up to him, and he turned their way. The boatman was a human skeleton, its skull dull and gray.

"Can I help you?" the boatman asked.

"We need information." Kivu said. "I know you can give it to us, Charon."

"I'm a boatman." Charon said. "Not a soothsayer."

"My wife is gone." Kivu said.

"So, you thought you could be like Orpheus?" Charon sneered. "Get out of here, ya piece of living fresh meat."

"I guess he doesn't know." Shifu said. "Your wife was Shinjitsu."

Charon's face, though that of a skeleton's, paled. "The d-d-daughter of N-Nemesis?" Kivu nodded. "Alright. I'll take you to Madame Tera. No charge. Climb aboard." Shifu and Kivu obeyed, and Charon pushed off, muttering to himself with fear.

"Who _is _Madame Tera?" Shifu asked.

"The wisest person in the entire Underworld." Charon said. "She knows all, sees all. She can tell you where anyone is at any point in time."

"Good to know." Shifu said. He turned to Kivu. "You really think she can help us find Shinjitsu and Lin?"

"If she can't, I don't know a soul who can." Kivu admitted. Shifu gulped a little. He stared into the waters of the river, which Kivu had told him during the wedding party was called the River Styx. The water looked like lime juice. Shifu noticed little trinkets here and there.

"What's in the river?" Shifu asked.

"Lost dreams, broken hearts, and the usual despairs of many." Kivu said. "Sometimes, when life goes wrong, people just throw away their lives, and it all ends up here."

Shifu noticed one trinket in particular and cautiously picked it out of the water. It was a golden crown studded with many jewels. Shifu looked at the writing on the inside. "This is my brother's. He wanted to become Emperor of China, but never got there. There was a tournament, and he earned as high as the Emperor's right hand man. It wasn't good enough for him. Jumped out of a high tower window."

"Put it back." Kivu warned. "Before his ghost appears." Shifu obeyed, carefully setting the crown adrift. Soon, there was the familiar hiss of wood against sand. Shifu and Kivu looked up and saw a hut on a beach of black sand.

"Welcome to the home of Madame Tera." Charon said.

A/N: In case you're wondering, I'm using the whole _STAR _thing because I can't use the symbol for some reason. The whole Gate of Orpheus thing was referenced from _Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian. _I own nothing; not the movie, not the Gate of Orpheus, not even Kivu. Just the other characters I made up.


	8. Madame Tera

Chapter Eight- Madame Tera

Shifu and Kivu hopped off the boat and bid Charon a farewell. The boatman poled off, muttering under his breath. Kivu and Shifu warily approached the hut. It was relatively small, and it looked like it was made of ash. As Shifu found out, it _was_.

"How is the house staying up if it's made of ash?" Shifu whispered.

"Magic." Kivu replied simply. Shifu went silent as the two of them approached the door. Shifu knocked on the door, which was made of petrified wood. There was shuffling from inside, and the door opened to reveal a woman in the doorway. She was a bit hard to look at without looking shocked. She was a marine iguana, by the looks of it. But her skin and scales were gray, clammy, and was covered in wrinkles. Her claws were long and badly overgrown on both her hands and feet. The spines on her back and crest of her head were white as pearls, but that didn't necessarily make them beautiful. Her lips were as black as obsidian. Madame Tera's eyes scared Shifu the most. The whites were black, the pupils were white, and the irises were the color of the River Styx. She wore a pale gray dress that was strapless and went to her hips, black leggings, and a dead flower bracelet on her tail.

"Madame Tera…." Kivu whispered. It was more of a statement rather than a question.

The marine iguana stared at the two warriors. "Yes." She said. Madame Tera stared at them once more. "You two are living. What business do you have here?"

"We need information." Kivu said.

"About Shinjitsu and Lin?" Madame Tera guessed.

"How did you…." Shifu stuttered.

"I know all, see all." Madame Tera replied. She chuckled. "I heard about what had happened. So come inside, and we'll talk."

Shifu and Kivu obeyed, but Shifu was really starting to get more freaked out. The inside of the hut had only one room. The only things in there were a bed in one corner, a fireplace against a wall, and a small kitchen area on the other side of the corner the bed was in. In the center of the entire house was a small fire pit.

Madame Tera led Kivu and Shifu to the fire pit, and they sat in a circle around it. Madame Tera gathered some wood from a woodpile near the fireplace and started arranging it in the pit.

"So, you wish to find you wife." Madame Tera told Kivu. "And you-" she told Shifu "-want to find your dragon daughter."

"Yes." Kivu said.

"Can you help us?" Shifu asked.

Madame Tera stared at the old master with her strange eyes. "Let me see your paw." Shifu seemed wary, but obeyed, extending one of his paws towards the soothsayer. Madame Tera took his paw delicately in her claws and stared at Shifu's palm.

"You are strong." She mused. "And wise. The greatest warrior, alive or dead." Shifu stared at her. "Though you are great, you feel haunted by so called 'mistakes' that are not entirely your fault." Madame Tera suddenly scratched Shifu's palm. Shifu drew his paw back with a yelp of pain, and he and Kivu watched as Madame Tera held her bloody claws over the fire. A few drops of Shifu's blood dropped in.

A horrible image appeared. The fires shrunk down and created little figures in a field of fire. Everything was made from the flames. The fire showed Shifu trying to stop Tai Lung from getting the scroll, only to pull short and have his hip shattered. The fire changed, and Shifu saw his last battle with Tai Lung in the flames. He growled and looked away.

"Madame." Kivu said firmly. "We called upon you for answers, not for painful memories."

Madame Tera nodded and, with a wave of her clawed hand, the images disappeared and the fire crackled back to life. "I apologize. But I want this to be a lesson." She turned to Shifu. "We all have one life to live. But we also have a choice on how to live it. Very rarely do we get a second chance. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." Shifu said.

"Tai Lung chose his own path." Tera said. "True, he turned evil. But now look: he's got a wife, child, and received a second chance, the lucky dog." Madame Tera smiled. "Now, about your girls."

"Do you know what's happened?" Kivu asked.

"I know they are here." Tera said. "I'm not sure how, though. I only see what's here in the Underworld." Madame Tera tossed some black sand from the floor onto the fire. The smoke twisted and turned into weird shapes. They meant nothing to Kivu or Shifu, but Madame Tera growled. "They are prisoners here. Locked away and sharing a cell. They are weak and bear a curse." Madame Tera looked up at the boys. "You must save them soon, or they will die."

"How?" Kivu asked.

"Shifu might tell you." Tera said. "I believe he knows about a vision Destiny had." Shifu stared at her. "Narrisa and I like to keep in touch." Shifu rolled his eyes and told Kivu about his vision.

"I guess it came true." Shifu added.

"You two have two missions." Madame Tera decreed. "You must find Shinjitsu and Lin, free them, break their curses, and get them out of here. Also, you must figure out why they were taken."

"In that order?" Kivu asked.

"Not necessarily." Tera said. "Now go. You're running out of time."

"Let's go." Kivu said. He and Shifu rushed out the door, but Madame Tera stopped them.

"There is something else." She said. "You're things must stay here; there will be no need for medicine or music down here." Reluctantly, Kivu gave his medicine and Shifu gave his flute to Madame Tera, who promised to hold onto them until their return. "Also, I understand Shifu here is a werewolf. It'd be best if you stayed in your werewolf form down here." Shifu nodded and transformed. "Perfect. The girls are in a prison near Hades' throne room. I bid thee good luck." Madame Tera disappeared into her house. Shifu and Kivu took off running across the black sand, determined to find the girls.

Turns out, they did find one girl. But it wasn't who they would expect.

Kivu and Shifu had been running for about ten minutes when Shifu suddenly ran into someone. At first, they thought it was a ghost or something. But they were shocked to see a young cheetah cub with a bow and quiver of arrows.

"Kiki!" Shifu exclaimed. "What are you _doing _here?"

"I'm trying to save Lin!" Kiki explained that when Daiyu heard of Lin's disappearance, she went into some sort of hibernation state as she mourned. "I just wanted to see her happy again."

"Kiki, it's dangerous down here." Kivu said. "Come on, we'll take you home."

"No!" Kiki demanded. "I want to help!"

"You're too young and it's too dangerous!" Kivu insisted.

"I can take care of myself!" Kiki said.

"We're taking you home even if we have to drag you there." Kivu said.

"Now Kivu-" Shifu started.

"If you want to do that, you'll have to catch me first!" Kiki took off running, Kivu and Shifu right behind her. Kiki managed to get ahead, but nearly ran into a giant, pure black Rottweiler. And this one had three heads.

"Cerberus." Kivu realized. Shifu rushed forward as Cerberus lunged at Kiki, who had fallen backwards onto her back. Shifu got between Kiki and Cerberus and snarled. Cerberus barked.

"Don't touch her!" Shifu ordered. Cerberus growled again. "We're not trespassing; we're going to rescue some friends." Cerberus barked. "Well, one of those girls happens to be Shinjitsu, as in the daughter of Nemesis." Cerberus whined. "Yes, the Greek goddess." Cerberus huffed, but let Kivu, Kiki, and Shifu go past him.

"You can understand him?" Kiki asked.

"I am a wolf." Shifu shrugged.

Kiki shrugged as well. "I'm serious about the helping you thing. You never know when you might need an extra person."

"Kiki, it's dangerous." Kivu insisted. "And you're just going-"

"Is it because I'm a girl?" Kiki demanded.

"What?" Kivu asked.

"Are you rejecting me because I'm a girl?" Kiki repeated. "Because I am a champion archer and will not be rejecting because of my gender!"

Kivu seemed at a loss for words. "Shifu, don't you have anything to say?"

"Yep." Shifu nodded. "Kiki….you are more than welcome to accompany us."

"What?" Kivu yelped.

"Yeah!" Kiki cheered. "Hey, can I get a ride? My feet hurt from running."

"Sure." Shifu knelt down as his granddaughter climbed onto his back. Though Kivu protested, he eventually gave up and followed the werewolf and little cheetah deep into the Underworld.

A/N: I'm back with this story again! Yeah! Hope you enjoyed!


	9. The Underworld

Chapter Nine- The Underworld

Shifu, Kiki, and Kivu journeyed deeper into the Underworld. Past Cerberus was a large and long cave that was at least a mile long. Once at the end, they found themselves at the entrance to a large area. It looked like a meadow field, but the grass and dirt was inky black. The sky above was a cave ceiling with a bunch of stalactites. A lot of stalactites were impaled into the ground. Little huts and houses were littered here and there. One hut had been reduced to a pile of splintered wood and a torn up straw roof with a stalactite in the direct middle of the mess. The stalactite itself was the size of a pillar from the Hall of Warriors. The only signs of significant life were tall stalks of white flowers (which Kivu explained were called white asphodel flowers) and the ghosts of the dead.

"What is this place?" Kiki whispered. It was obvious she was scared. For one thing, since she was still on Shifu's back, she was gripping his thick, reddish-brown fur so hard that her knuckles under her fur were white.

"This, my friends, is the Asphodel Meadows." Kivu said. "The people who live here weren't that good but also weren't that evil. So they live here. Some of them wiped their memories clean in the River Lethe. One dip and you're like a newborn baby." Kivu chuckled. "Some of them are like robots, always working and hardly ever actually living."

"Aren't they dead?" Kiki reminded him.

Kivu chuckled again. "Yeah, guess you're right. Now listen, past these fields are Elysium, the Isle of the Blest, and the Fields of Punishment. Elysium is the realm of those who did much good with their lives. The Isle of the Blest consists of people who decided to be reborn three times, and each time they received Elysium. The Fields of Punishment is full of the worst possible tortures you can imagine and more, all for those who gave their lives to evil."

Shifu took a deep breath. "Let's get going."

Kivu and Kiki nodded and they journeyed forward. They passed by not only animals but also humans. The people outside, at least those who noticed the three living beings passing by, gave friendly smiles and waved. Some people, however, seemed confused and maybe a bit scared. A while after Kiki had started walked alongside Shifu, a hand suddenly grabbed her foot, and she screamed. Shifu and Kivu stood ready to protect her, but only found the ghostly form of a gorilla. His mouth moved as though he were talking, but all they heard was a twittering sound, like the sound a bat makes twice as fast. Kivu ushered a shocked and confused Shifu and Kiki away and thru the meadows.

"We need to keep moving." Kivu urged. "The first thing we're gonna have to go thru is the Fields of Punishment, and they aren't pretty."

The three of them journeyed on. The meadows went on for another half mile; a half mile of black grass, small huts, and a close encounter with a falling stalactite. Then, they reached another cave mouth, this one smaller. But, as the warriors passed thru, Shifu was abruptly stopped. He looked back and saw that a ghost was holding onto his back foot. The ghost was a raccoon, with wild eyes and foam on his mouth.

"Get me out of here!" the raccoon ghost screamed. "Or at least stay here! Let us take your soul!" Shifu didn't say anything, but he was desperate to get out of the crazed ghost's grip. But, for some reason, the ghost's hand and body wouldn't pass thru the cave mouth, and therefore neither could Shifu's foot. The raccoon ghost didn't let go until two security ghouls, which were skeletons dressed in uniforms, came and pulled the ghost away. One of the ghouls saw the three warriors and called for others.

"We have to move!" Kivu ordered. "Now!" The three of them ran off down the corridor. They hid as security ghouls passed and then they relaxed.

"This is insane." Kiki panted.

"Well, I'll bet that raccoon will be getting himself into the Fields of Punishment. Oh, there it is." The three of them got up and started off, but abruptly stopped when they came to a hill that overlooked the most gruesome sight that anyone could've beheld.

The Fields of Punishment were aptly named. People were being put thru terrible things: thrown into molten lava, only to be dragged out unharmed and thrown in again; giant black hounds chasing some ghosts down; ghosts being beheaded or shot with arrows; on a tiny hill, an ant-sized figure was pushing a small rock up a hill, which Kivu described as Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a hill, only to have it roll down again.

In every single torture, the ghosts showed no wounds, but their screams indicated that they felt all the pain.

Kiki suddenly felt movement in her hand, and she turned to her grandfather. The little cub had been holding onto the werewolf's fur, and she found Shifu trembling.

"Yeye?" Kiki spoke up. Kivu glanced over at the werewolf master. Shifu's eyes were darting around, and his breath was starting to quicken.

"Master Shifu?" Kivu was getting a bit worried. "Are you-?"

Suddenly, Shifu bolted!

Kivu and Kiki watched for only a split second before they ran after the werewolf master. Shifu sprinted right thru the Fields of Punishment, weaving thru ghosts and darting past guard ghouls. He didn't stop once, not even when he ran into a group of skeletons. He didn't stop until Kiki, being a cheetah, used her speed to catch up with him and grab a hold of his wolf tail. Then, the cub planted her heels into the ground, and Shifu skidded to a halt. Kivu caught up with them, panting.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Gramps here lost his cool." Kiki sassed.

"What did you just call me?" Shifu demanded.

"Ha!" Kiki suddenly cried. "You didn't deny it!" Shifu and Kivu gave the cub weird looks. Kiki rolled her eyes. "Right after I said 'Gramps here lost his cool', the first thing Shifu commented on was the fact that I called him 'Gramps'. Therefore, he never directly denied the fact that he freaked out."

"I don't really understand what she means."Kivu admitted. "But she does have a point about what just happened." Now Shifu had both the zebra and the cheetah cub staring at him.

Shifu sighed. "Ok, so I freaked out a little. No big deal." Kiki raised an eyebrow. "Alright! Give me a break! I've never seen someplace so horrible, and I was just thinking about…." Shifu sighed. "…if Tai Lung would've came here had Destiny not given him another chance."

Kivu and Kiki's faces showed that they finally understood. Kiki smiled. "But look on the bright side: Dad's not here, is he?"

"And your little outburst got us thru the Fields of Punishment faster." Kivu added. "And trust me when I say that Elysium will be much better." Shifu smiled and nodded, and they went off. The space between Elysium and the Fields of Punishment was a huge, floor to ceiling wall and a door. The group managed to slip thru unnoticed and continued on. They kept walking right thru Elysium, which was almost heaven compared to the Fields of Punishment.

Elysium was like a paradise vacation spot with houses and villas from different times. Though the Underworld was dark and black, Elysium was somehow lit up with sunlight and burst with color. Birds and butterflies flew about. The ghosts that lived there seemed happy, as though they didn't mind being dead. There was also a large lake, and in the center of that lake was an island.

"The Isle of the Blest." Kivu sighed. "So small because so few have lived there. It's so sad." Kiki nodded in agreement. Shifu didn't do anything, as he was concentrated on something else. His ears suddenly perked up, and he turned to see security ghouls coming after them.

"I think we'd better go!" he ordered. The three of them rushed off, but the ghouls were close behind. Kiki noticed something and pulled the boys along with her.

The ghouls rounded a corner, but they didn't see the living beings they were after. One ghoul turned to a ghost cheetah weaving and talked to it. But all that could be heard was the click of dried teeth and bone. However, the ghost seemed to understand.

"Living people?" she asked. "Of course. They went that way." She pointed down the road, and the ghoul thanked her as he and his buddies rushed off. When the ghost saw that they were gone, she gestured from inside her house. Shifu, Kiki, and Kivu appeared and walked out.

"Thanks." Kiki said.

"Of course." The ghost replied.

"You know each other?" Kivu asked.

"Yup." Kiki nodded happily. "This is my aunt."

"Indeed I am." The ghost said. "Now you three must be heading off before those ghouls come back."

"It's not going to be easy to find Shinjitsu and Lin with those guys around." Shifu growled.

Kiki's aunt tensed up. "You are the ones searching for them?" Shifu only nodded. Kiki's aunt reached into her bag and brought out a black cord. On the cord was the white Yin half of the Yin-Yang symbol. "I know of the spell you need to use. But the only way to use it is to find the original symbol. I found this a long time ago, but you must find the other half and combine them together. Only then will you be able to unlock its power." Kiki's aunt gave the necklace to her niece, who put it around her neck. "If you wish to reach your friends quickly, I suggest you find a ghost to help you. I cannot, so be careful about who you choose."

"I know just the person." Shifu said. "Come on!" The three of them thanked Kiki's aunt and they rushed off.

"Where are we going?" Kiki asked.

"To the Isle of the Blest." Shifu replied. "I just hope she's still there."

"Who?" Kivu asked. Shifu didn't answer, and they kept running until they found a dock where a large boat was. Actually, it was more like a small pirate ship. Nonetheless, the group piled on with some other ghosts. The ride was quick to the island, and the group wasted no time in jumping off the boat and rushed onto the warm sand. They rushed off, with Shifu leading the way. However, even Shifu didn't know what he where he was going. He kept stopping and looking around, then he'd rush off in one direction, only to stop again a few meters away and change directions.

After a while, Kiki stopped the boys. "Yeye, with all due respect, do you even have the _slightest _idea of where we're going or who we're looking for?"

"I know who we're looking for." Shifu retorted. "And I know she's here." Shifu's eyes scanned the area around them. "I just don't know where."

Kiki's eyes glinted mischievously. "Oh….._she_..."

Shifu turned and growled. He was about to snap at his granddaughter when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He saw a woman wearing loose black pants and a black tank top. She had blue eyes the color of cloudless skies and was doing tai chi beneath a palm tree.

She was a red panda.

Shifu approached the red panda woman, who abruptly stopped what she was doing, staring fearfully at the werewolf. She stood at a Tiger Style stance, ready to fight. But Shifu only transformed to his normal form. He took one more step towards the woman.

"Yuki….." he whispered.

Shifu's lost fiancé seemed wary, but suddenly her eyes widened, and she rushed forward, wrapping her arms around Shifu's neck.

"I'm so sorry." Yuki nearly cried. "I never would've helped that bloody cat, I swear. But he-"

Shifu shushed her. "That's the past. What's important to me is here and now." Yuki smiled and kissed his cheek.

Kivu cleared his throat nervously. "Uh, Shifu, who is this?"

Shifu smiled and turned to him and Kiki. "This is Yuki, my fiancé. Yuki, this is Kivu and Kiki. Kiki is Tai Lung's child and Kivu is here searching for his wife."

"An honor to meet you both." Yuki said.

"She's pretty." Kiki said shyly.

Yuki laughed, but then her smile disappeared. "Wait, his wife? You're looking for the nymph and the dragon?"

"What, does the _entire _Underworld know this?" Kiki cried.

"Well, most of it knows that the nymph and dragon are being held prisoner down here." Yuki replied. "And about a handful know that three living beings are looking for them."

"We need your help." Kivu said urgently. He explained their situation.

Yuki looked around. "I'd be honored to help, but how do we get off the island?"

"The boat?" Kiki suggested.

"We'll be seen." Kivu retorted. "And no doubt raise suspicion."

Yuki then smirked in a way that Shifu was all too familiar with. "I have an idea."

A/N: I don't own the Asphodel Meadows, Elysium, the Isle of the Blest, or the Fields of Punishment. Those places are property of all those Greek writers. Hope you enjoyed!


	10. Facing the Shadows

Chapter Ten- Facing the Shadows

"This is beyond insane!"

"Shut up, or they'll hear us!"

"Kivu, get off my foot!"

"Sorry."

"Ow! You kicked my stomach!"

"Well this trunk really isn't that big."

"Maybe that's _your _fault!"

"You calling me fat?"

"So what if I am?"

"Kiki, Kivu, quit it."

"Says the old man who is currently sitting upon my tail; I can't feel it!"

"All of you be quiet!" Yuki nearly yelled.

Ok, so maybe piling into a large trunk and being shipped across to Elysium wasn't exactly the best idea in the world. But it did get them off the island. However, it was quite a bumpy ride as the trunk was lifted onto a carriage and carted off to its destination, only to have it drop once they got there.

Kiki, who had been gazing at their surroundings thru the keyhole, declared the coast clear and the four of them pulled themselves out of the box. The only other person in the room was Kiki's aunt.

"Thanks again." Kiki told her aunt as the group came out.

"My pleasure." The elder cheetah said. "Now I'd get going if I were you; there are security ghouls searching all over the place for you. And once Hades finds out, he'll be sending even more powerful forces to stop you." The group thanked Kiki's aunt again before leaving. Yuki led the group out of Elysium, hiding in the shadows as security ghouls passed by. Then it wasn't much but caverns and corridors of stone. Shifu, remembering Madame Tera's warning, returned to his werewolf form.

"So, where exactly are we going?" Kiki asked.

"I've been hearing rumors." Yuki replied. "And I think I have a good idea on where the girls are being held."

"Where?" Kivu asked a bit too eagerly.

"In Hades' palace." Yuki said grimly. "The darned place; I was hoping that I'd never have to go back there. But this is important, so I'll make an exception. Underneath the palace is the dungeon. We'll go in, save the girls, and get out."

"But shouldn't we find out why Hades stole them?" Kiki put out.

"That might have to wait." Shifu said. "Depending on how our luck goes."

"Being in the Land of the Dead, I can't imagine having much luck on our side." Kivu muttered. Kiki whacked the zebra's head with her bow.

The group traveled on. They had to hide at least ten times as security passed by, but one ghoul did see them. Shifu took him down with ease. All that was left as they walked on was a pile of bones and a torn-up uniform. After what seemed like hours, the group stopped to rest after Kiki complained that her feet hurt.

"How long have we been walking?" she wondered aloud.

"Who knows?" Yuki shrugged. "Time is different in the Underworld." Suddenly, Shifu tensed up.

"Hide!" he hissed. Everyone dived behind some nearby rocks and cautiously peeked out. They watched as a group of shadow warriors came by, stopping in front of their view. Standing before the army was an albino ferret with bright red eyes, black leggings, a denim mini skirt, a black tank top, and a denim jacket.

"Skia…." Shifu growled quietly. Luckily, he wasn't heard.

Skia, King of Shadows (despite being a girl) stood before the group of shadow warriors. "My master, Hades, tells me that there are living beings down here. We must find them. I want all of you to spread out; check everywhere. If you find them, you may wound them. But they _must _be kept alive. Anyone who disobeys this order will be thrown into the Fields of Punishment." The shadow warriors saluted and dispersed. Skia lingered for a moment, but then disappeared in a black cloud.

"How do you know her?" Kiki asked. Shifu told the group about his dream.

"What would Hades want revenge for?" Kivu asked.

"How would I know?" Shifu demanded. "I woke up after that because you were pounding on the door."

Kivu looked sheepish. "So, should we be worried?"

"She's the King of Shadows." Yuki groaned. "I would think that having that title means we should be worried, seeing how we're her enemies." The group traveled on, but there was a flash of hatred in Shifu's eyes.

"How much longer until we're there?" Kiki asked nervously.

"Not much longer." Yuki assured. "We may have to sneak past the Furies to get into Hades' palace, but after that, it'll be easy to find the girls and then get out."

"Great." There was a long pause before Kiki finally asked, "What are Furies?"

"There are three Furies." Kivu explained. "They work for Hades and Zeus, punishers of the evil. But if Hades says so, they will attack us."

"How bad can they be?" Kiki shrugged.

"They're hags with wings and talons." Kivu added.

Kiki went silent after that. It actually wasn't long until she suddenly tensed. "You guys hear that?"

"Yep." Shifu growled.

"Hide!" Yuki ordered. Everyone hid where they could. Looking up, they saw human hags with large, black feathery wings and long talons for fingernails.

Yuki heard a growl and looked to her right, seeing Shifu beside her. "Calm down." She told him. "We can't let them catch us or they'll take us to Hades."

"Or kill us." Shifu added. "But I'll tear them to shreds before that happens."

Suddenly, one of the Furies tensed up. Everyone below tried to make themselves smaller, shrinking back into their hiding places. The Fury's eyes scanned the area below her, and she suddenly screeched. She dive-bombed towards the ground, and Kiki suddenly darted out from her hiding place in the shadows. Kiki fired an arrow, which pierced the hag's stomach. The Fury reared back, screeching like a banshee. Kiki kept running as the other two Furies came after her. Their sister recovered and joined them. Kivu, Shifu, and Yuki recovered from their shock and ran after the group. One of the Furies, however, managed to grab Kiki in her talons and flew off with the cheetah cub. The other two Furies dived in to attack Shifu, Yuki, and Kivu. Shifu darted past them and charged after the Fury that held his granddaughter. He managed to leap up and off the wall and launch himself at the Fury, tackling her to the ground. Kiki rolled away and looked up to find her grandfather and the Fury fighting fiercely.

The Fury slashed her talons and bit into Shifu's neck with her sharp teeth. Shifu snarled and kicked the Fury off. He tackled the hag to the ground and held her there, growling and baring his sharp wolf teeth. The Fury hissed and slashed her talons across Shifu's face. He jumped back and the Fury flew off, her sisters joining her. Kiki ran over to Shifu, Yuki and Kivu joining them. Surprisingly, they didn't have many wounds except for a few scratches. But Shifu was whimpering slightly like a wounded dog. Yuki looked at his face and saw the claw marks from the Fury's final blow. There were three scratch marks across the right side of Shifu's face; one to the right of his eye, one over his eye, and a third running slightly down his muzzle.

"That looks pretty nasty." Kiki cringed.

Kivu took a better look at it. "It's not bleeding much, but it will scar." Kiki took out a cloth she uses to clean her bow with and lightly dabbed away the blood.

"We must keep moving." Yuki urged when Kiki was done. "No doubt those Furies will be warning Hades and Skia about where we are." Everyone nodded and rushed off, seeing Hades' palace just up ahead. They burst thru the doors, expecting guards. But there was nothing but a courtyard. Once the group had stepped thru, the gates slammed shut behind them. A black cloud circled down from the cave ceiling and materialized in front of them.

Skia made a _tsk tsk _sound. "Are you really that dense? Did you honestly believe that it would be that easy?"

"Where are Lin and Shinjitsu?" Kivu demanded.

"Look, I'm trying to do you a favor." Skia groaned. "Trust me when I say that it'll be better for everyone if you all go home."

"We're not leaving without them." Kiki declared.

Skia sighed. "I don't want to have to kill you."

Shifu was the first to stand ready. "Bring it on."

Skia sneered and brought out a spear. Its tip was blood red. "One touch from this spear's blade and you'll burst to ashes." She moved her jacket to reveal a metal fan on her belt. "This fan is as sharp as the Sword of Heroes, and can launch powerful whirlwinds and shockwaves." Skia held her spear ready. "If you value your life, you'll just leave now."

"Well, then we must be suicidal." Kiki retorted, notching and arrow into her bow. For a moment, there was a tense silence. Then, Kiki fired her arrow.

Skia deflected the arrow with her spear and summoned her group of shadow warriors. Then, the two groups attacked. While Kiki, Kivu, and Yuki fought the shadows, Shifu charged straight for Skia. The two of them fought hard. Skia swung and stabbed with her spear and sliced thru the air with her fan. Shifu did his best to dodge both of them, but he soon noticed he didn't really need to. Shifu couldn't help but notice that Skia's aim seemed a bit off. It wasn't until Shifu pinned the ferret down that he noticed something else about her. For one thing, he remembered her eyes from somewhere.

_I wonder… _Shifu thought.

He jumped back when Skia slashed at him with her fan. When she stood to face him again, he stopped. "You're holding back." He said.

Skia seemed surprised, but her eyes narrowed. "Why would I hold back?"

"Because you know me from somewhere." Shifu replied. "And I know you; we've known each other for a long time."

"That's impossible." Skia snapped.

"Nothing is impossible." Shifu retorted. Then, he went back to his red panda form. "Does this help you remember?"

Skia didn't say anything. She was too busy staring at the kung fu master before her. "No….." she breathed. She suddenly barked an order. "Retreat!" The shadow warriors didn't hesitate, disappearing in multiple puffs of smoke. Skia took one last look at Shifu, who had transformed to a werewolf, before flying off in a black cloud.

Kiki, Yuki, and Kivu caught up with Shifu. "What did you do?"

"Raised some unpleasant memories." Shifu sighed.

"What do you mean?" Kiki asked.

Shifu turned to them. "I've known Skia for a long time. Her parents were good friends of mine, and Master Oogway's. When their house was destroyed by a fire, we gave them shelter in the Jade Palace." Shifu smiled softly. "Skia was always an energetic little kit. Her parents always talked with me about training her. But….." Shifu sighed. "..Skia's parents died during Tai Lung's rampage. Master Oogway found Skia the next day and brought her to the palace. My leg was still broken pretty badly, but once I could walk again, I started training her. When she was sixteen, she went off on a mission without my knowledge. When I found out, it was too late; we never found her."

"So, you think Hades brainwashed her?" Kiki wondered.

"Not if she remembers me and wasn't willing to hurt me." Shifu disagreed.

Yuki saw her lover's pained eyes. "We should find the girls." Everyone nodded in agreement and quietly snuck into Hades' palace.

A/N: I should probably mention that the security ghouls came from Percy Jackson, too. And Skia's weapons are actually mine from Demon Slayers: Yin and Yang.


	11. Tan the Tanuki

_This chapter introduces a new OC named Tan, who belongs to Tan-Tan Tanuki. _

Chapter Eleven- Tan the Tanuki

The group kept going, knowing that they had to go down a few floors. Yuki managed to con some of the male servants there to tell them where the dungeons were. The farther down they went, the colder it got. By the time they reached the door to the dungeons, their breaths were coming out in icy clouds.

"Kivu, stop breathing on my neck!" Kiki complained. "It's chilling my spine!"

"Do you have to complain at everything I do?" Kivu demanded.

"Well you are a nuisance _all _the time!" Kiki declared.

"If you two get us caught, I'm gonna break all your limbs and toss you off the Jade Palace mountain!" Shifu hissed.

Kiki and Kivu looked over at Shifu, then continued their bickering in hushed whispers. Shifu groaned, and Yuki giggled.

"I so wish I had my flute right now." Shifu growled. "Then I'd hit both of them so hard they'd lose all their brain cells!"

Yuki rolled her eyes and kissed Shifu's cheek again. The old master's face went red under his fur.

"You're so cute when you're tense." Yuki teased. Kiki and Kivu stifled back laughs, and Shifu growled at them.

Yuki quietly opened the doors and ushered everyone in before closing the door behind them. The four of them journeyed down farther, passing cells and large wooden doors that had someone banging on them.

"Those servants said that the girls are in a cell that has a single guard." Yuki said after a while.

"One guard, four of us." Kiki notched an arrow into her bow. "It'll be easy."

"Depends on the guard." Kivu reminded her.

The group had to descend about three or four flights of stairs before they arrived at another corridor. At the end was a large door.

"Is that it?" Kiki asked nervously.

"Yep." Yuki sighed. The four of them simultaneously took a breath and walked forward.

"Isn't there supposed to be a guard?" Kiki whispered.

"Knowing Hades, the door to the girls' cell is beyond this door, and the guard is on the other side." Kivu replied.

The group approached the door, staring at it. Kiki shivered slightly from the super cold air. Everyone gave each other looks of encouragement, and Yuki cautiously open the door. They looked in, expecting a large, burly boar or maybe an elephant. Kiki expected a dragon.

But, instead, they found a tanuki.

He had brown fur, round ears, a long tail, and was quite chubby, like any tanuki. He wore a brown shorts and a gray shirt with ripped sleeves. A sword was at his hip.

And…..he was asleep, snoring quite loudly.

Everyone just gave him a weird look as Yuki closed the door quietly. The tanuki was in a chair, laying back in it and drooling.

"This is the guard?" Kiki asked quietly.

"Apparently." Shifu whispered.

"Wow….." Kiki shook her head. "That's just pathetic." Everyone shrugged and tiptoed past the tanuki and to the door behind him. While Shifu, Yuki, and Kivu tried to pick the lock, Kiki examined the tanuki. He was kinda cute. Except for the drool. Kiki had to go onto her tip toes to examine his face when the tanuki's nose twitched. Everyone froze as the tanuki stretched and yawned, wiping the drool away. Kiki had jumped back and the tanuki stood to face her. The others made no sound, hoping he wouldn't turn.

The tanuki stared at the cheetah cub for a moment. "Are you dead?"

Kiki stared fearfully (and if not a little dreamily) into the tanuki's eyes and then at the floor. "Uh…yes…."

"Oh." The tanuki said. "How'd you go?"

"I…drowned….." Kiki lied. "….in….a bath tub." (A/N: Kudos to Percy Jackson!)

"Bathtub, huh?" the tanuki didn't seem to buy it. "So, why do you have your archery stuff?"

"Uh…"Kiki stuttered a bit. "I was…cleaning them…and myself…."

"In the same tub?"

"…yes…"

The tanuki stared at her, then shrugged. "Ah, oh well. At least you're dressed. My name's Tan."

"I'm Kiki."

"Nice to meet you." Tan said good-heartedly. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I…..um…was just looking…for someone to talk to." Kiki lied. "I'm…..a bit lonely…."

Tan smiled. "Well, you can talk to me." Suddenly, Kivu's hoof slipped on some mud, making a squeaking sound. Tan whipped around, his eyes widening. "Intruders!" He leapt for Kiki, but Shifu tackled him to the ground. Tan managed to kick the werewolf away and stood ready to fight, taking out his sword. It was a katana, both its handle and blade pure black and radiating with energy.

"What kind of sword is that?" Kiki demanded.

"The demonic kind." Tan smirked. "Say hello to my demonic sword of darkness, Laevatine; found it in my travels. You know, before I came here." Tan swung his sword at Kiki, who ducked and used her bow as a staff, attacking the tanuki. Everyone else stood back, Yuki trying to pick the lock with a hair clip.

Tan and Kiki fought hard, though both of them couldn't stop thinking about how good-looking the other person was. Kiki's bow was sharpened at both ends, helping her to leave a few cuts into Tan. Soon, however, Tan held up a hand for her to stop.

"Time…..out…." he panted. "Need…break….."

"Yikes, you don't exercise much, do you?" Kiki scolded.

"Hey!" Tan protested. "I….am a….tanuki…we are known…for being….laid back and lazy….ugh….."

"Make that _really _lazy." Kiki scoffed. Tan took a deep breath and lunged again, only to have Shifu barrel into him. His sword flew out of his hands and impaled the ceiling, sticking there like some weird, lightless chandelier. Shifu stood, snarling, facing the tanuki who stood with a triumphant smirk.

"A werewolf, huh?" Tan chuckled. "Child's play; get ready to fall under my claws!"

"What claws?" Kiki asked.

To answer, Tan suddenly transformed, as tanukis can. In a moment, he stood before Shifu as a polar bear.

"Oh…." Kiki realized what claws he meant.

Tan lunged, and he and Shifu fought like wild animals. Their strength was pretty evenly matched. One minute, Tan will be pinning Shifu to the ground, growling in his face. The next, Shifu will be biting Tan's neck.

"Hey grandpa, nice scar." Tan boasted. Shifu growled, but Tan kept it up. "How's about I finish the job and slice your face off!" It wasn't until Shifu made the next move that the battle stopped.

Knowing that his red panda size might be an advantage (at least until Tan transformed again) Shifu went back into his original form. His robe was a bit torn for some reason. Shifu guessed it was from being scratched by the Furies.

Tan stopped in his tracks and stared at the red panda master.

"Meep…" he squeaked. Suddenly, he turned into a mouse, trembling. Though Shifu was confused, he grabbed Tan by the tail and held him up to eye level.

"Something wrong?" Shifu asked.

Tan started stuttering uncontrollably. "M-M-Mas-Mas-Master Sh-Sh-Shifu!" His words came out in a rush. "OkDon''ve-" Shifu put a finger over the tanuki's mouse mouth.

"I'm not going to crush you, if _that's _what you're worried about." Shifu said, putting Tan down.

Tan went back to his tanuki form and sighed, wiping his brow. "Dude, I almost wet myself; why do you have to scare me like that?"

"Why'd you freak out?" Kiki demanded.

"Master Shifu is the greatest warrior in all of China." Tan explained. "Probably all the world; if _I _was caught killing him, you'd find my head on a post."

"We need to get inside that cell." Kivu ordered. "My wife and Lin are in there."

"Great." Tan muttered. "_You're _the husband of that nymph." Tan sighed. "I'll do it, but what's in it for me?"

"I _don't _tear you to shreds?" Shifu offered.

"Nope." Tan frowned.

"How about we help you leave the Underworld?" Kiki suggested. Tan went silent. "I know you're not a ghost."

Tan sighed. "Ok, so I came here for a summer job. But it hasn't been any fun being surrounded by dead people, especially since I have to guard these two girls." Tan got a gleam in his eyes and he turned to Kiki. "Can you really get me out of here?"

"Of course." Kiki promised. "I'll see to it myself. But _you _have to help us free our friends."

Tan smiled. "Alright I'll do it."

"Great." Yuki said. "So how do we open the door? Picking the lock doesn't help." To prove her point, she held up her hair clip, now broken in half.

"It has a lock pick proof spell on it." Tan explained. "The key is in Persephone's garden. Come on, I'll help you find it!"

"But aren't you supposed to guard them?" Yuki reminded him.

"They aren't going anywhere." Tan muttered. The group shared uncertain looks, but they followed Tan as they all snuck quietly out the door, Tan grabbing his sword on the way. They journeyed up the stairs, away from the freezing dungeon, and out into a large pavilion. In the pavilion was a large garden. Like Elysium and the Isle of the Blest, it was the only sign of significant life. Tall aspens, black poplars, and willows towered over the group. Flowers, such as white roses, lilies, daffodils, and poppies grew in such abundance that some grew in the pathway. Aconite and mint plants lined the path, the mint plants giving off an inviting scent. There were many pomegranate trees, overflowing with the fresh fruit. Clumps of precious stones and bushes full of gems grew here and there.

"The Garden of Persephone." Tan introduced. "Don't touch or eat _anything. _Eat any Underworld food and you'll have to stay here forever." That last sentence was enough to stop Kiki from eating a plump pomegranate she found on the ground. The cub immediately tossed the fruit away. The group kept walking until Tan stopped them at a willow tree. The tanuki stepped up to it and climbed up to its topmost branch. When he came down, he had a large, brass key in his paw.

"Ta-da!" he exclaimed. "Now, let's go get those girls." The group turned, but abruptly stopped.

Skia stood in front of them. "You must leave, now."

"Why should we do what you say?" Kivu demanded.

"Listen, I do want to help you." Skia said. "Hades knows that you're here, and he'll do anything in his power to stop you."

"We're not leaving without our friends." Kiki said firmly.

Skia growled. "Listen you foolish little-" She stopped when Shifu approached her.

"Skia, you need to understand this." Shifu said. "Shinjitsu and Kivu are married. Lin is like a daughter to me. If we leave here without them, then all that we've been thru will be for nothing." Skia looked down. "Tan is being promised freedom from this place in return for helping us. If you let us do this, you can come back to the palace." Skia looked up at the old master, and she smiled. Then, she pulled something out of her pocket.

It was the Yang half of the Yin-Yang symbol.

"I think you'll need this." Skia smiled. Kiki came forward and took the black symbol. She placed it next to the white half on her neck and the two halves connected. Kiki took off the necklace and everyone stared at it.

"Now what?" Tan asked.

"I say we split up." Yuki proposed. "Some of us will go face Hades with the powers and the others will go get the girls."

"I think Kivu should go." Shifu said.

"Me?" Kivu was initially surprised. "But….I have no powers. They were taken, remember?"

"You don't need any magic powers to use it." Shifu smiled.

"But it might help if you had hands instead of hooves." Skia smiled. She snapped her fingers, and Kivu was transformed into his nymph form.

"Thanks." Kivu said gratefully. He took the Yin-Yang symbol from Shifu. "I'll go alone and face Hades. The rest of you, go get Lin and my wife."

"We'll meet up with you in Hades' throne room." Tan said. Kivu nodded, and the two groups split up.

A/N: Only a few chapters left!


	12. Facing Death

Chapter Twelve- Facing Death

Kivu ran as fast as his nymph legs could carry him. The garden, unfortunately, was really large, and it took quite a while to run thru it. He was probably halfway to the throne room when he stopped, leaning on his knees.

"Ugh." Kivu groaned. "How big could this garden possibly be?"

Suddenly, there was a light beside him. He looked over and saw a small pond. A stone fish statue was spewing mist from its mouth. Somehow, though there wasn't a single ray of sunshine, a rainbow was clearly seen in the mist. There seemed to be a glowing circle in the rainbow, and Kivu approached it. The circle flickered and Kivu saw an image in the rainbow. He saw a dark, metal room with a single, barred window. Tan was looking at him worriedly. Skia was kneeling next to Shinjitsu and Kiki was sitting cross-legged next to Lin. Yuki was next to Shifu, who looked in obvious pain. Kivu was extremely concerned when he saw Shinjitsu and Lin, who looked like extremely old crones.

"What's wrong?" Kivu demanded.

"I've got five words for ya." Tan said. "'Houston, we have a problem'."

"What?" Kivu asked.

"Remember what Madame Tera said?" Shifu said. "The girls bear a curse, and it's a powerful one."

"What do you mean?" Kivu asked urgently.

"The girls aren't immortal anymore." Yuki explained. "They've been mortal for a while now. They also age ten years every day."

"Ten years?" Kivu repeated.

"Yes, that's what we just said." Kiki scoffed.

"Oh shut up!" Kivu snapped.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Kiki shouted.

"If both of you don't stop it I'm going to lose it!" Skia growled.

"Sorry…." Kiki and Kivu mumbled.

"How many days could they have been in there?" Kivu asked.

"Well, let's see." Shifu said. "It had been two days between the time of Shinjitsu and Lin being captured and you coming to the palace. You stayed at the palace for another two days."

"You've been in here for three days." Skia informed.

"Shinjitsu always stays in the form of a twenty-year-old." Kivu said. "Lin stays about that same age as well."

"The highest, average life expectancy is…I'd say about 80 years." Yuki said. "The two of them have been here for a week." Yuki did a quick calculation. "They've aged 70 years, making them about 90 now."

"How much longer do we have?" Kivu asked anxiously.

"Until midnight." Tan replied grimly. "At midnight, they'll reach 100, and they'll die."

There was a deathly silence. A pin could drop a mile away and you could hear it. Shifu's eyes were glassy with tears he fought back.

"I'm coming over there." Kivu decided. "Shifu, you go and do the spell, but I want to be with my wife."

"Kivu, my leg is broken." Shifu said.

"What?" Kivu nearly yelled.

"We ran into a guard that had a club." Kiki explained.

"Are you kidding me?" Kivu demanded.

"Kivu, listen to me." Shifu ordered. "You have half an hour to do the spell. It'll take longer than that for us to do the switch."

"But-"

"Kivu, please!" Shifu took a calming breath. "You're the only one that can save them. You have to do it now. I'm asking you as a friend." Shifu glanced at the girls. "Do it for Shinjitsu."

Kivu hesitated. He wanted his wife to live, but he couldn't bear to part with her in fear of losing her. But at the same time, he knew Shifu was right; he was the only one who could save them now.

It was a long pause, but Kivu finally nodded. "I'll do it."

Shifu had most grateful look imagined. "Thank you."

"And, uh, I'd hurry dude." Tan piped up. "Cause you're down to twenty-five minutes till midnight."

"TAN!" everyone yelled. The tanuki hushed.

"He is right." Skia said. "It'll take about ten to fifteen minutes to get to Hades, so you have to hurry."

"Not a problem." Kivu said. "But, how do I use the powers?"

"Concentrate on your chi." Shifu instructed. "And hold the symbol as you do so. Concentrate on what you want to happen. Remember that you have to keep light and dark in balance with each other."

Kivu nodded and waved his hand thru the rainbow, making the image disappear. He ran off with renewed strength. He was confronted by two security ghouls at the doors to the throne room, but Kivu was in no mood. He took each of their skulls and bashed them together. The lifeless skeletons fell to the ground. Kivu stared at the Yin-Yang symbol in his hand for a moment before he put on the necklace and tucked it into his shirt. Then, he boldly shoved open the doors and waltzed inside.

It was just like Shifu's dream. There was nothing but a large cave. Hades' throne was made of bones fused together with magic. Persephone's throne looked like a black daisy. The goddess, of course, was not there; summer was time with her mother, Demeter. A large grandfather clock was between the thrones, and Kivu could plainly see that he had about ten minutes to do the spell. Sitting upon his throne was Hades himself. The god had changed his image considerably.

And by considerably, I mean you wouldn't even recognize the guy.

Hades still had pale skin and greasy black hair. But instead of black robes, he wore a black T-shirt, black jeans, and black converse sneakers. His hair was short and spiky. His eyes looked like a starless night sky. On top of all that, he looked no older than seventeen, even though he was ten feet tall.

"Ah, Kivu." Hades smiled gruesomely. His voice was younger as well. "I see you've come alone. You're friends abandon you?"

"Why are Lin and Shinjitsu trapped in your palace?" Kivu demanded.

Hades sighed. "I see we like to get right to the point. They are my prisoners, why else?"

"But….." Kivu was a bit confused. "They were taken by shadow warriors. Skia is the King of Shadows."

"Oh yes." Hades chuckled. "I knew it would be so easy to frame that little runt. She never suspected a thing. Well, she might've, but she knew better than to disobey orders."

"You sent her to kidnap them so I'd go after her." Kivu realized. "I would've died anyway! You would stop me before I could save the girls."

"Actually, if you had killed Skia when you had the chance, I would've _let _you take the girls." Hades corrected. "They would still bear their curses, and they'd die." Hades laughed. "Yes…..Skia's been quite useful to me over the years."

Kivu paused when he remembered something Shifu had said.

"_When she was sixteen, she went on a mission without my knowledge. By the time I found out, it was too late; we never found her."_

"That mission that Skia went on….." Kivu breathed. "It involved you, didn't it?"

"Yes…." Hades droned. "I was wreaking a bit of havoc, so she came after me. But I was much stronger than her. But I took pity on her; she had so much potential. I took her in and gave her eternal youth and her shadow powers. In return, Skia serves me."

"You took advantage of her." Kivu growled. "She never would've wanted this!"

"So what if she didn't?" Hades shrugged. "She is bound to me forever."

"Not forever." Kivu assured. "Once I break the curse put on the girls, Skia will come with us. And you will face Nemesis' wrath."

Hades laughed loud, shaking the cave ceiling so much that Kivu was worried stalactites would fall. "Don't you get it? I've won! There isn't a power in the world that can break the curse!"

"Oh yes there is." Kivu boasted. He pulled out the Yin-Yang symbol. Hades' smile immediately disappeared.

"Who told you about that?" he demanded.

"An old friend." Kivu said. Kivu held the symbol and started to concentrate. But Hades suddenly shrunk to human size and slammed into Kivu. The symbol rolled off and spun to a stop a few meters away. Hades lunged for it, but Kivu stopped him. The two wrestled for a while, but then stopped when Hades shoved Kivu away and combed his hair with his fingers.

"Now Kivu, is this really how grown men should be fighting?" Hades asked coolly.

"You mean a grown man and a teenage god?" Kivu snapped.

Hades only sneered. "Listen, I'm a reasonable god. I don't usually solve my problems by brute force; I make deals."

Kivu was wary. "What kind of deals?"

"Let's have a little game." Hades suggested. "If you win, I'll release your friends and even lift the curses the girls have. If you lose, I get your soul."

Kivu frowned, narrowing his eyes. He almost told Hades off, but the clock caught his eye. He saw that he had a little over five minutes to save the girls. "Name the game."

"It'll be a game of finding the truth." Hades explained. "I offer a scenario and a question, and you answer. If you answer truthfully, you win. If not, I win."

"Alright." Kivu said. "Sounds fair."

"Who said anything about being fair?" Hades chuckled. "Now, here is my question.

"Let's say you were a god; an all-powerful being who had unlimited power. Mere mortals write legends and stories about you, temples are built in your honor, and you have many children, both god and half-god. If you walked the earth, every living being, from the strongest warrior to the little dandelion, would bow to you. You are basically only one step below the great Buddha. Now, let's say that one day, you see a beautiful nymph in the forest, combing her soft hair near a sparkling creek. You immediately fall in love, deeper love than ever before. The nymph is swooned, but refuses to marry you because you are a god, and will outlive her. Her mother trusts you, but the nymph still refuses. You are desperate, as it seems the only way to win the nymph over is to give up your immortality and your powers."

"What's your point?" Kivu asked.

"This is my question to you." Hades replied. "If you had to choose between being a god and having all the power of the universe or living with the nymph as a simple mortal who works for a living, what would you choose? Would you want your powers? Or would you still be happy even if you were a merchant that was dirt poor?"

Kivu almost replied quickly, "I would choose to give up being a god." He knew that Hades was referring the nymph and her mother to Shinjitsu and Nemesis. But he paused.

_I must answer truthfully. _He thought. _Or Hades gets my soul and Shinjitsu dies. I already have powers, at least before they were taken away. Those were simple magic powers. To have all the power in the universe…that would be pretty cool. But what about Shinjitsu? Think, Kivu, think. You had the guts to defend her and even marry her, much less meet her mother. But if you had to choose between power and love, what would you choose? And with immortality, I could live forever, and have many children and many wives. Ugh, it's too hard of a choice. What am I supposed to do? I guess if I had the powers of a god, I could've saved Shinjitsu in the first place. Skia isn't strong enough to take on a god. But if I'm protecting Shinjitsu…._

Hades smirked. He knew the nymph/zebra would never figure it out.

Kivu took a breath and stared Hades in the eye. "Having the powers of a god is great, but also a big responsibility. Marrying Shinjitsu was a big commitment for me. I knew when I first met her that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her." Kivu smiled. "I choose my wife."

Hades chuckled. "You're a liar. You know, I can give you the powers and immortality of a god. You can choose those or the girl."

"The girl." Kivu said.

Hades growled. "You are too late."

Kivu almost asked him what he meant when a sound met his ears.

The chimes of the clock.

Kivu stared fearfully at the clock, which started slowly chiming midnight.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

"What's happening?" Tan asked. Lin and Shinjitsu's breathing was slowing down.

"It's midnight." Skia said. "We're losing them."

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Kivu wasted no time, even when Hades started laughing cruelly. He saw the Yin-Yang symbol in the dirt and swiped it up. He focused hard. A black and white sphere suddenly encased the nymph. Hades lunged for him, but was blown backwards into his throne. He could only watch as the sphere, which had taken the form of the Yin-Yang symbol, started glowing.

Inside the sphere, Kivu concentrated on what he wanted to happen.

_I want to lift the curses placed upon Lin and Shinjitsu, and return them to normal. _He thought. _Heal Shifu's leg, too. And put Hades in a cage he can't break out of so he can be questioned. Put the key to the cage in my pocket._

Suddenly, Kivu felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he realized that he had too much darkness; the Yang half of the symbol was growing, its inky blackness seeping into the Yin half. Kivu focused on more positive feelings, but the Yin half grew bigger than the Yang. He kept feeling more pain that threatened to consume his mind and (quite literally) kill him.

Then, waves of light and darkness rippled away from the sphere and out into the Underworld. In the cell, Shifu's leg snapped back into place. Lin and Shinjitsu turned back into their original ages and got up, looking as healthy as ever. Hades was lifted by an invisible force and thrown into a cage that appeared out of nowhere. In her hut, Madame Tera smiled.

"Well done." She whispered.

The sphere around Kivu disappeared, and he swayed a little, then stumbled to his knees, and fell to the ground.

A/N: Whew! What a long chapter! This is a birthday present for Tan-Tan Tanuki! Enjoy!


	13. Are You Kidding Me?

Chapter Thirteen- Are You Kidding Me?

"I say we should wake him."

"No, we shouldn't. He's exhausted."

"Skia's right; it takes a lot of energy to use that power."

"What if he's dead?"

_Poke poke_

_Groan_

"He's not dead."

"Do you really have to do that?"

"Duh!"

"Shh! He's waking up!"

Kivu groaned again and slowly opened his eyes. At first, all he saw was shapes and shadows. Then, his vision sharpened. The first thing he saw was the black cave ceiling. Then, he felt the presence of about a half dozen other people. The third thing he noticed was that someone was poking him with a stick. With further investigation, he realized that the stick was actually Kiki's bow.

"Would you stop that?" he muttered. Kiki smiled mischievously, but stopped. Kivu sat up and looked around. Yuki, Skia, and Tan stood over the nymph/zebra, who was still in his nymph form. Kiki was kneeling next to him. Shifu, with his leg fully healed, stood next to Yuki as a werewolf. Lin, her curse lifted and looking like a normal, adult dragon, towered over them.

Kivu turned and saw a familiar nymph beside him. "Shinjitsu…." He expected her to hug and kiss him. Instead, the daughter of Nemesis punched his arm. "Ow! What was that for?" Kivu rubbed his sore arm.

"_That _was for worrying me!" Shinjitsu scolded. "You could've died! You could've gotten Shifu killed! Ugh, sometimes you are such a-" Kivu suddenly kissed her, and when he pulled away, she sighed, shaking her head. "You are such a dork. But at least you're a brave dork."

"You saved my life, little wizard." Lin said. "I am eternally grateful." Kivu smiled. "However, you almost got my baba killed, so…." Lin whacked Kivu's head with her tail. "Now I feel better." Kivu rubbed his head and muttered something about how that was unnecessary.

"Hey guys!"

Everyone turned and saw that Kiki had snuck away from them and was standing in front of Hades' cage. The god of death was still inside, trying to break out.

"Kivu!" Hades screamed. "I demand you to release me! I am one of the most powerful gods in the world!" Kiki started poking the god of death with one of her arrows. "Cut it out you insufferable brat!"

"Aw man!" Kiki crossed her arms and frowned. "I never get to do stuff like that."

"Actually, Hades is not the boss of you." Kivu said as he and the others walked over. "Shifu is your grandfather, so _he _can tell you what to do."

"Well, I think that you could do it a few more times." Shifu shrugged. "Unless Hades here is willing to answer our questions."

"I am a god!" Hades shouted. "You have no power over me!" Shifu nodded towards his granddaughter, who started poking the god of death. "Stop that!"

"No way." Kiki said boldly. "Not unless you answer our questions."

"Never!" Hades shouted. Kiki gave him a hard jab. "Ack! Alright!" Kiki smiled and stopped.

"Now that we have your attention, tell us this: why did you kidnap me and Lin?" Shinjitsu demanded.

"You were bait." Hades said. "To lure Nemesis here; though that obviously didn't work because instead of a goddess I got an old werewolf and a zebra."

Shifu growled. "Why would you want to lure Nemesis here?"

"Because she refused me of something that I wanted." Hades said simply.

"What a spoiled brat." Yuki muttered.

Shifu's eyes wandered to the floor in thought. The argument Hades and Nemesis had, a long time ago, echoed in his head. "I remember, a few days before Kivu and Shinjitsu's wedding, you and Nemesis were fighting. What were you fighting about?"

"None of your-" Hades caught sight of Kiki holding her arrow ready. "Fine. I had come with a reasonable proposal, and Nemesis was being ornery, stupid, and stubborn."

"Speak for yourself." Skia retorted.

"What kind of reasonable proposal are we talking about?" Tan asked.

Hades seemed embarrassed. Note that he was still in the form of a teenager. "Well…..um…..see, I….." Kiki gave him a jab. "Ow! Alright already! I wanted Nemesis….for a wife."

"What?" Shinjitsu almost yelled.

"Ew." Lin stuck her tongue out.

"But don't you already have a wife?" Skia reminded him.

"Who's his wife?" Kiki asked.

"Persephone." Skia explained. "Goddess of plants and daughter to Demeter; Hades kidnapped her and forced her to be his bride."

"That's why I went with asking first this time around!" Hades interrupted. "Anyway, Persephone is only with me during the fall and winter. When spring and summer come, she is with her mother."

"How is this all tied with you wanting to marry my mom?" Shinjitsu asked.

"Well, I wanted Nemesis as a wife for the spring and summer so I wouldn't be lonely." Hades admitted.

Everyone had a different reaction. Skia slapped her forehead. Tan stared at the god of death with his mouth hanging open. Kivu gave Hades a weird look. Shifu raised an eyebrow. Yuki pinched the bridge of her nose. Shinjitsu was fuming. Lin raised her fist like she was going to crush the god, but refrained. Kiki banged her head against her bow.

"Are you kidding me?" Kiki finally said.

"Uh…no?" Hades suggested.

"So that wasn't your plan?" Kiki asked.

"Oh, that was my plan." Hades said.

Shinjitsu sighed. "You mean to tell me that you kidnapped me and Lin…."

"Took away my magic…." Kivu added.

"Almost got him and me killed….." Shifu also said.

"….and you tried to frame me." Skia finished.

"All because you wanted a second wife so you wouldn't be lonely?" Lin completed.

"Well, yes." Hades said. "I mean, that fact that a couple people got hurt/nearly killed, I didn't expect that. I just thought Nemesis would come for her daughter and we'd be married. The fact that I got the dragon was a bonus. No offense."

"Some taken." Lin growled.

Shifu sighed. "Alright, I think it's about time we headed home. I'm sure Nemesis would _love _to hear about this."

Suddenly, Hades freaked out. "Hey, whoa! You can't hand me to Nemesis! She'll torture me for a thousand years! I am a god, yes, I'm immortal. But I can still feel pain! Come on! You can't just leave me with her! Look at me! I'm in the form of a teenager! Nemesis might turn me into a teenager for all eternity!"

"I hope she turns you into a sea sponge." Kiki scoffed.

"Oh come on!" Hades went to his knees. "I'm begging you!"

"This is embarrassing." Tan said.

Shifu smirked. "Hey, I have an idea. Hades!" The god of death stopped whimpering like a dog and looked at the old werewolf master. "Look, as much as I would love to see Nemesis gut you like a fish, I'm feeling merciful today." Hades looked hopeful. "Instead of us turning you over to Nemesis, _you _will confront her yourself."

"And do what?" Hades practically yelled.

"Apologize." Shifu shrugged. "Ask for forgiveness and offer something to her to make it up."

Hades looked up in thought. He paced in his cage for a moment. He sat down and rested his chin on his fist. He eyed Shifu. Finally, he sighed. "I don't know what good it'll do, but I guess I could try."

"Very good." Shifu commented.

"And if you pull anything funny, I'll crush you." Lin snarled.

Hades gulped, but kept his cool. "Great, so if I'm going to apologize, you're going to have to let me out of here." Kivu smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out the cage key as requested. Kivu unlocked the door, and Hades calmly walked out.

"Let's get going." Shinjitsu said.

"Allow me to escort you out." Hades bowed. "It would be my honor."

"Remember my threat." Lin growled. But the group followed the god of death out of the throne room and thru the Garden of Persephone. But, as they came closer to the Elysium, Skia suddenly went to her knees.

Shifu was at her side in an instant. "What's wrong?"

"I feel…..something…." Skia groaned. "Like many people are in danger."

"I sense it as well." Hades said. "I feel as though many of my subjects are in the living world." Hades extended his palm and a black cloud appeared before the group. An image appeared, and everyone was both shocked and angry.

Bā hén, the skeleton ninja lion, stood before a massive army of skeletons, ghouls, and shadow warriors. They were ready for a battle, and Bā hén was giving them a speech.

"Today is the day I take back what I desire!" Bā hén shouted. "By dawn tomorrow I'll become the Undead King of the Valley of Peace! By joining me, you have made yourselves a part of my army, and will soon be known and feared throughout the land!" The army cheered. Kiki growled and slashed thru the image, making it disappear.

"We have to stop him." Shifu growled.

"There is a secret portal to the mortal world in Elysium." Hades said. "Follow me!" The group ran off, following the teenage god of death. They didn't stop running until he halted them in an alleyway. He opened a portal to the mortal world on the wall. The dark circle was swirling with inky black clouds.

"We just have to jump thru." Hades instructed. "And we'll take Bā hén down."

"Then let's go!" Tan drew his sword, Laevatine, and charged towards the portal.

But Shifu saw it before the tanuki did. "Tan, wait!"

Too late.

Tan jumped thru the portal and was immediately captured by two of Bā hén's men. He was brought before the undead lion and forced to his knees.

"Well, what do we have here?" Bā hén sneered.


	14. The Great Battle

_Sorry for the long wait. But I have so much school stuff going on. And this chapter is longer than any chapter I've ever typed. Enjoy! P.S. Beware of a cliffhanger._

Chapter Fourteen- The Great Battle

"You think you're so tough?" Tan boasted. "I'll beat you with my hands behind my back!"

"Alright." Bā hén shrugged. A skeleton tied the tanuki's hands behind his back. "Now try and come at me."

Tan frowned. He could change into something big and scary, but that might be difficult with his hands tied. So he decided to just stand up and charge for the skeleton lion. But Bā hén summoned Tan's sword and the tanuki had to skid to a halt to avoid becoming a tanuki kabob.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Bā hén smirked.

"Just wait!" Tan regained his composure. "When Master Shifu comes, he's gonna kick your butt!"

Bā hén stiffened. "Master Shifu?"

"Yeah!" Tan scoffed. "He's in the Underworld right now and-" Only then did Tan realize what he said.

Bā hén smiled evilly. "Well, since the old man's out of the way, I guess that means my plan will work even better." He tossed Tan's sword Laevatine to a crocodile skeleton. "Once my men and I are out of sight, kill him and leave his body here. The old man will find him. Move out!" Bā hén led his troops into the forest and towards the Jade Palace. The croc shoved Tan to his knees and raised Laevatine over his head, its wicked blade gleaming in the afternoon light. Tan saw the shadow of the sword and the croc as he stared at the ground. He saw the croc swing the sword down, and he braced himself.

Then, he was shoved to the ground.

Tan couldn't do much except listen as a struggle happened around him. He managed to move in time for a furry mass to slam into the place he was just in. "Watch it!" he yelled. Suddenly, he felt his bonds being cut away, and he sat up to see Kiki sheathing one of her arrows.

"You are an idiot." Kiki growled.

"For what?" Tan demanded.

"For jumping thru the portal without waiting for me!" Kiki snapped. "It's a good thing you're cute." Tan blushed and batted his eyes, earning an eye rolling from the cheetah cub. The rest of the group joined them and they all turned to watch as Shifu (in werewolf form) took down the croc. Once the deed was done, Shifu went to his normal form and picked up Laevatine.

"I think this is yours." He handed Tan the sword. Tan smiled and sheathed it.

"We have to get to the palace." Tan urged. "Bā hén's going to take over!"

"We can take him." Shinjitsu said.

"But he'll beat us there." Lin sighed.

"Maybe not." Hades piped up. "I can open a portal and get us there before he does."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Yuki demanded.

"Well, I sort of owe you all one for causing this much trouble." Hades rubbed the back of his head nervously. "And I'll still go to Nemesis. Just let me help."

"Fine." Shifu said. "But we can't bring any of your undead soldiers. They might turn against us." Hades nodded and opened another portal. This time, they waited until they could see the Training Hall on the other side before jumping thru. The Five and Po had been training outside with Chen the werewolf pup and Yī fù the medicine werewolf watching them. They were all shocked out of their skins at the sight of the group. But once Shifu explained their situation, they agreed to help.

"Should we gather some weapons?" Viper suggested.

"No, I won't risk that bloody lion getting his claws on any artifacts." Shifu growled. "We'll fight him the old fashioned way."

"I like that idea." Po agreed.

"We should get the villagers to safety." Lin said.

"Another good idea." Po said.

Suddenly, there was a scream.

Shifu was the first to rush towards the doors of the palace, the others on his heels. Upon reaching the doors, everyone stood at the top of the thousand steps and saw Bā hén and his army attacking the village and its inhabitants.

"We're too late." Yuki said. "He's here."

"We'll fight him now, then." Kiki snarled, notching and arrow.

"Anyone got a plan?" Tan asked as he drew Laevatine.

"Destroy the ghouls and skeletons." Skia instructed.

"Protect the villagers." Po added.

"And don't die." Yuki finished.

"Easy for you to say!" Tan pouted. Everyone laughed and drew what weapons they had.

Shifu smirked. "Let's get started."

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Bā hén smiled as he stood on top of a pile of rubble, his army laying waste to the village. Master Shifu and the others were far behind him. By the time they got there, Bā hén would be king, and they would be imprisoned and (for some of them) put to death.

A sharp yell snapped the lion out of his thoughts. He looked out into his army and saw a sight that disgusted him: Shifu, his students, and their friends, including Hades, fighting his army. Shifu (as his old red panda self) charged straight thru the skeletons and shadows with a sword in hand, slicing thru any ghoul that got in his way as he approached Bā hén. Bā hén smirked and drew his sword.

"Are you really going to battle me at my own game?" Bā hén taunted as Shifu stopped at the base of the rubble the lion stood upon.

"One match." Shifu said. "I win, you take your army and leave. You win, you take my life."

Bā hén smiled. "Done."

Then, Bā hén reflected some of the sunlight into Shifu's face with his sword. The old master covered his eyes, but opened them just enough to see Bā hén jumping down at him with his sword. Shifu held up his sword just in time, and the two pieces of metal clashed together in a burst of sparks.

Yuki heard the clang of two blades and turned to see the men fighting. She started towards them, but a paw held her back. She looked over to see Skia holding her arm.

"That's their battle." She said. She cut down a skeleton with her fan. "This is ours." Yuki looked solemnly at her lover and his enemy before joining the albino ferret in the battle.

Shifu and Bā hén's swords clashed together again and again. But neither one could draw any blood. Sparks flew. The sound of clashing swords rang out. Blades sliced clean thru the air. But not a drop of blood stained the ground or the swords. Bā hén snarled as his sword was knocked away. He swiped his claws at Shifu's face to distract the old man long enough for him to grab it again. Bā hén slashed his katana, and Shifu had to duck to avoid getting decapitated. He lunged with his blade, stabbing the cat between the ribs and going right thru his spine.

Bā hén did nothing more than stumble on impact. He jerked the sword out of Shifu's hand and pulled it out. "Wrong move, old man." He came at the master with two swords in hand.

"Master!"

Shifu looked over as Monkey, who had shouted, tossed him a spear. Shifu caught it and blocked just as Bā hén came down with the twin blades. Shifu was back on his feet in half a second. He had fought against blades before without even having a weapon himself; he knew what to do. He deflected every blow that Bā hén tried to lay down on him. As he did, he tried to figure out how to subdue the skeleton lion or even re-kill him.

Shifu suddenly lost focus. Bā hén took his opportunity and struck Shifu across the face with the hilt of one of his swords. Shifu went to the ground, but managed to rise to his knees. He felt something warm and wet on his face and raised his hand to the wound. Pulling his hand back, he saw blood, and he knew that his scar had reopened.

He was about to stand when he felt a cold metal blade on his neck. He immediately went back to his knees, waiting for the right moment. He saw Bā hén's shadow on the ground in front of him, and he could see that the lion had one sword on the red panda's neck and the other raising high to strike down.

Suddenly, a large mass came barreling into Bā hén, knocking the ninja off his feet and giving Shifu time to get up again. He saw Po standing over Bā hén. One of the swords had been knocked out of the lion's hand, and now it was in Po's. Bā hén stood to fight, but Shifu grabbed his spear and intervened.

"This is my fight." Shifu told Po. "Go help the others." Po glared hard at Bā hén, but obeyed his master and ran off with the sword. Bā hén came hard and strong with his sword. But Shifu was ready for him. He backed up one step at a time until his back hit a wall. Shifu lowered his spear and Bā hén raised his sword to strike. Shifu moved at the last second, crouching down and resulting in Bā hén's sword being stabbed into the wall itself. Before the lion could retrieve it, Shifu shoved him away. Bā hén snarled and slashed his claws, trying to get back to his sword, but Shifu was always between the two. Then, Shifu swiped at Bā hén's legs, and the cat ended up on his back. Shifu pressed his spear point on the lion's chest, and the skeleton grinned gruesomely.

"So I guess you're going to kill me, eh?" he taunted. Shifu didn't move, but his eyes clearly showed uncertainty. "You don't have the guts to kill. Even if I had brutally killed Master Oogway, you still wouldn't kill me." Shifu pressed the point harder against the cat's collar bone. "But you can prove me wrong. Go on and kill me." Shifu's grip tightened. "Be a man."

Shifu growled, but he removed the spear. "Not a man like you." The old master turned and walked off.

But Bā hén wasn't done yet.

Jumping to his feet, the skeleton lion rushed forward. Shifu turned to face him, but the lion caught him off guard. Bā hén lifted Shifu off the ground and pinned him to a wall, pressing the spear against the master's neck.

"You're pathetic." Bā hén hissed as he pushed the spear harder into Shifu's throat. "Why Master Oogway took someone like _you _in for a student, I'll never know. But I do know that I'll be doing this valley a favor by getting rid of you."

"Hey loser!"

Bā hén turned, only to have Yuki smack his face with a plank of wood. The force caused his head to spin around multiple times. He stumbled back, allowing Shifu to drop to the ground and catch his breath. But the old master wasted no time in yanking Bā hén's sword out of the wall and slicing it thru the lion's neck. The skull rolled off a little ways and the body crumpled to the ground. Shifu shakily rose to his feet and tossed Bā hén's sword aside.

Suddenly, Yuki punched his arm. "Ow!" he yelped. "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot and jumping into a battle that almost killed you!" Yuki snapped. "You know how much I hate it when you do that!" Shifu raised an eyebrow and Yuki sighed. "You can't scare me like that."

"I'll try to not do it again." Shifu promised.

"Good." Yuki said. "Because we've still got an army to fight." Shifu nodded and they started off. Suddenly, Yuki screamed, and Shifu looked down to see Bā hén's skull rolling back towards its body, which now stood upright. The body picked up the head and put it back in its place. Bā hén, looking not the least bit harmed, smirked.

"You actually thought you could kill me that easily?" he sneered.

Shifu was the first to rush in, only to be knocked aside. Yuki snarled and charged, aiming a kick for the cat's head. Bā hén grabbed her foot and threw her to the ground, grabbing her by the throat.

Shifu, enraged, charged for them. "Leave her alone!" Bā hén smiled and tossed Yuki into Shifu, and the two red pandas fell head over heels. Bā hén came forward with his sword. Shifu shoved Yuki behind him, but Chen, Yī fù, and Tan came over, defending the red pandas.

Bā hén sneered. "I'll deal with you later." He rushed off. Tan started to go after him, but Chen held him back.

"We've got a bigger problem." Chen reminded the tanuki.

"What?" Yuk asked. "The fact that Bā hén can't die?"

"None of these guys can." Tan growled. "We're gonna need something big and powerful to beat these guys."

Chen and Shifu shared a look and glanced over at Yī fù, who nodded. Tan and Yuki smiled in understanding.

"We'll hold them off as long as we can." Yuki said. She and Tan rushed off into battle, Yuki picking up the spear on the way. Shifu, Chen, and Yī fù ran off into the forest.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Tigress snarled and slashed her claws across a skeleton's face. Normally, she wouldn't use her claws in battle; it was against everything she had learned. But this was an exception. Suddenly, Po slammed into her and they crashed to the ground as a bunch of rubble occupied the space she was just in.

"What are you doing?" Tigress demanded.

"Trying to avoid you getting crushed!" Po snapped.

"Well, thanks, now get off of me!" Tigress jumped off and ran off to fight.

"Some thank you." Po muttered. He held up his sword as another came swinging in his direction. Looking down, he saw that its holder was the tanuki he had seen earlier with Shifu.

"Sorry." Tan said. "By the way, I didn't catch your name."

"Po."

"Tan."

"Is this really the time to talk about this?" Po asked. He parried and lunged at a shadow warrior. "We need more people."

"Shifu's working on that." Tan promised.

"How?" Po demanded. Suddenly, the boys turned when a girl's scream rang out. They saw a small rabbit girl with a skeleton hanging over her, mace raised to strike. Po started towards her, but he knew he'd never make it to save the girl.

Then, just as the skeleton threw down his mace, a furry mass tackled it to the ground, crushing the skeleton into a lifeless pile of broken bones. The girl stared up at the giant wolf that stood before her.

"Get to safety." The wolf ordered gently. "We'll take care of them." The girl nodded gratefully and ran off. The wolf ran over to Po and Tan. "How are we doing?"

"Shifu?" Po asked.

"No, it's the Wolf man." Shifu said sarcastically. "Have we lost anyone?"

"Not yet." Tan informed.

"Good." Shifu sighed. "Let's keep it that way."

"Did you get back-up?" Po asked worriedly. Suddenly, a howl broke out.

Shifu smiled. "That would be it."

Suddenly, the werewolves, led by Zhan shi, burst from the forest and attacked the undead army.

"Now _that's _what I call backup!" Po cried happily. "But, can we beat these guys if they're already dead?"

"When I was in the Underworld, these guys were only destroyed after I finished them off." Shifu explained. "This'll work, I'm sure of it." Zhan shi, Chen, and Yī fù came over to the group.

"The werewolves know to attack the undead and protect the villagers." Zhan shi explained. "Those are their orders."

"Good." Shifu said. "Go and help them."

"What about Bā hén?" Chen asked.

"I'll take care of him." Shifu growled. "He's not escaping this time." Shifu ran off, and the rest of the group dispersed to fight.

Meanwhile, Bā hén was fighting Kiki, who had long since ran out of arrows and was using her bow as a staff. She already broke some of Bā hén's ribs off, left a few scratch marks in his skull, and even stole his sword, tossing it far away. But the lion had given the cub a few scratches of his own. It wasn't until Bā hén kicked Kiki to the ground that Shifu came. The werewolf stood over his granddaughter, snarling.

"Back for a rematch?" Bā hén took a stance.

"Kiki, get out of here." Shifu ordered. Kiki growled. She had a gash on her arm, claw marks on her leg, and a torn ear. But she obeyed her grandfather and ran off to defend Mr. Ping, who was being chased by a skeleton bear.

Now, it was just Shifu and Bā hén.

The lion went down on all fours and the two animals circled each other. Their eyes locked, Shifu's ears went back, and Bā hén had his claws out. Shifu remembered a talk he once had with Po.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Is there ever a time when you can't use kung fu in battle?" Po asked._

"_What do you mean?" Shifu asked._

"_Well, I mean, you're a werewolf, and most werewolves don't know kung fu." Po explained. "So I'm wondering if you guys ever fight like wild animals."_

"_Po, remember what I've taught you." Shifu told his student. "Not every battle can be won without a death. That also applies to how you fight; there may come a time when you have to let instinct take over and fight, essentially, like a wild animal."_

"_I don't think that'd help me in any way." Po confessed. "I don't have sharp teeth or claws."_

"_Po, I wouldn't want to cross your path if you were fighting like that." Shifu assured. "You don't need sharp teeth or claws. You just use your instincts."_

_END FLASHBACK_

Then, the two animals collided.

Bā hén sunk his claws into Shifu's back, but Shifu tossed him off, snapping his teeth. Shifu tackled the skeleton cat, breaking the rest of Bā hén's ribs off. The broken bones clattered to the ground. Bā hén snarled and swiped his claws, narrowly missing Shifu's nose. Bā hén lunged for the master, claws extended. Shifu jumped back and bit Bā hén's skeleton tail. The tail came off and fell to the ground.

"You little runt!" Bā hén snarled. He lunged, but Shifu reared back. Bā hén moved quickly, swiping his claws across the werewolf's chest. A split-second after the master came back down, Bā hén grabbed his front leg in his teeth. Shifu growled in pain and bit into Bā hén's neck. The lion let go and roared. He pulled away and snarled at the wolf. Bā hén was breathing hard, but he lunged once more. Shifu was ready; he intercepted the lion and pinned him to the ground.

Immediately, Bā hén was transformed from a murderous villain to a cowardly lion (excuse the pun).

Shifu did nothing but growl for a moment. "Give me one _good _reason why I shouldn't kill you."

Bā hén stumbled for a moment before answering. "I never killed anyone."

"You threatened many people, including me." Shifu growled, his voice low. "But you're right; you haven't killed anyone yet."

"Please spare me!" Bā hén begged. "I'll do anything!"

Shifu exhaled thru his nose. "I want you to leave, Bā hén. Leave my valley and never come back. Because if I _ever _see your face here again, I'll not hesitate to kill you on the spot." Shifu got off of the skeleton.

Bā hén stood on all fours and bowed. "Thank you, merciful master." He started walking past Shifu.

Suddenly, he flicked his paw up and tossed dirt into Shifu's eyes. The werewolf master snarled and desperately tried to shake it off. Bā hén roared and lunged. Shifu snarled and leaped up to meet him. He grabbed the cat's skull in his mouth and brought it to the ground. Then, Shifu reared back and brought his front paws down hard, crushing Bā hén's skull. Bā hén's skeleton body went limp. A wave of black clouds spread out.

All across the village, the others were still fighting. But when the black clouds came rushing by and disappeared, the ghouls, skeletons, and shadow warriors stopped. They stood frozen for a while before they disappeared, all going back to the Underworld where they belong.

Shifu stood and watched as Bā hén's skeleton disappeared. He sighed and went to his normal form. His chest, arm, and face were still bleeding, but he turned and walked off, searching for his friends and students.

"Yeye!"

Kiki suddenly came forward, hugging her grandfather. Shifu gave a grunt of pain, and Kiki saw the gash on his chest. "Sorry."

"It's alright." Shifu groaned. "It's the good pain." Kiki rolled her eyes.

"Did you do it?" Shinjitsu asked as she and Kivu came over. The two of them were sweaty and covered in cuts and bruises.

"Is Bā hén….?" Kivu started.

"He's gone." Shifu assured. "This time, forever."

"I'm sorry." Hades said. He was still in the form of a teenager. "This is all my fault and I can only ask for your forgiveness."

"You've got it." Kivu assured.

"But you still have to confront Nemesis." Shifu reminded him.

"I know." Hades said. "I was hoping that…..uh…..I could…..maybe…..have her come here?"

"That would work better." Kivu agreed. "We all need to rest up and heal a little."

"Shifu!"

Everyone turned and saw Tan rushing towards them. The tanuki stopped in front of the group, huffing and puffing. He started muttering and stuttering.

"Spit it out!" Shinjitsu snapped.

Tan took a deep breath and calmed down. "Shifu, you have to come quickly."

"Why?" Shifu demanded.

"It's Skia!" Tan cried. He ran off, the others following. They found the werewolves and everyone else standing around someone. The group parted as Shifu stepped forward. His eyes widened at the sight in the middle of the circle.

Skia was on the ground, blood covering her chest.

A/N: Told ya it was long and to beware of a cliffhanger! Only a few chapters left!


	15. The Aftermath

Chapter Fifteen- The Aftermath

Shifu knelt next to the albino ferret, staring at her wound and then her face. Skia's face was calm and still, like she was dead. Shifu looked up at Yī fù, who was sitting next to the girl. Her face was solemn.

"Is she…?" Shifu couldn't complete the question.

Yī fù shook her head sadly. "She was stabbed in the heart; there's no way she's alive."

"She'll be fine."

Shifu turned and saw Hades beside him. "What do you mean?"

"When I….uh…_employed _Skia as my King of Shadows, I made her immortal." Hades explained. "As long as we bind her wounds, she'll be fine. She'll be in a coma for a few days, but I also gave her the ability to heal quickly." Shifu sighed with relief.

"We'd better get the werewolves out of here." Po urged. "Before the villagers see them." Shifu nodded and told Zhan shi to take the werewolves back to their village. Zhan shi obeyed, and the pack disappeared into the forest. Hades carried Skia as the warriors headed up to the Jade Palace to bind their wounds and rest. Mantis fetched Yun, the village doctor, and the fox was at the palace within a few minutes. Yun was quite shocked to see Yī fù, but once she realized the wolf was also a doctor, she calmed down. Everyone had cuts, bruises, and a few had splitting headaches. Skia, Tigress, and Monkey were wounded so badly that they were kept in the infirmary, where Yī fù ordered them to stay in bed.

Yun, after tending to Lin's wounds, walked around the Jade Palace grounds before finding Shifu sitting under the Peach Tree. He seemed to be in the worse shape. He had his scar on his face (which had long since stopped bleeding), claw marks on his chest and back, and teeth marks on his arm. His chest and arm were bandaged, and Shifu soon realized how hard it was to move your spine when bandaged like that.

Yun sighed to make herself known before sitting next to the old master. "Good evening."

"Evening." Shifu greeted.

"Pretty cold out, isn't it?"

Shifu shrugged.

Yun sighed again. "I'm guessing you want me to keep Yī fù a secret."

"That would be appreciated." Shifu said. "But…"

"But what?" Yun asked. "Master, forgive me for saying, but how can you expect the villagers to accept these….ah…_people_? They're giant wolves, and some of them have powers that we don't."

"I was just thinking." Shifu answered. "It wouldn't be fair to them. Those wolves saved the valley. How can I just turn them away to be hated once more?"

Yun stared up at the sky. "You're one of them, aren't you?" Shifu nodded. "And you are their leader?"

"One of two." Shifu said.

"Then you'll know what to do." Yun said, standing up. "You are the guardian of the valley and leader to a pack of werewolves." Yun walked off, only to stop at the steps. "Just think about the consequences for each decision." Yun left the master to his thoughts.

For the next week, everyone at the palace relaxed and healed. If there was any trouble in the valley, Hades, Shinjitsu, and Kivu, who had the least wounds, would take care of it. Skia woke up after a few days, but was still bedridden as Yun took care of her.

One day, Lin, as a hatchling, came into Shifu's room. "Baba, come on!" She grabbed his sleeve in her teeth and pulled.

Shifu chuckled. "Where are we going?" He stood up and followed the little dragon.

"Nemesis is here!" Lin said, leading the way. Shifu smiled and he and Lin ran off. The rest of the group, even Skia, had dropped what they were doing to come and see Hades get chewed out. The god of death and the goddess of balance were in the Hall of Warriors. Hades was in his teenager form, looking quite pitiful. Nemesis was her normal adult self, but she radiated with dark energy. Everyone watched from the doorway. Hades and Nemesis glanced briefly towards them before turning to face each other again.

"You realize how angry I am?" Nemesis demanded, her voice low. "I'm surprised that I'm even allowing mortals to witness what I'm about to do to you."

"Will you let me explain my situation?" Hades asked.

"Why would I do _that_?" Nemesis screamed.

"Because I'm standing in front of you as a teenager who knows he did something bad." Hades replied simply.

Nemesis sighed, but allowed Hades to talk. The god of death explained his plan and what had happened in the Underworld. He told Nemesis about sending Skia to kidnap the girls and taking Kivu's magic. He confessed about nearly killing the zebra and Shifu. Hades told Nemesis about giving Kivu his magic back and helping to fight off Bā hén and his army.

"I know now that what I did was wrong." Hades finished. "I shouldn't have been a spoiled brat, and I'm sorry. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'm asking for it. And I'm ready for whatever punishment you have for me."

Nemesis' face softened the slightest. For the next few minutes, which felt like hours, the goddess just stared at Hades.

Then, she smiled. "You should know that I'm still _extremely _angry with you." Hades suddenly gained interest in his converse sneakers. "At the same time, you seemed to have redeemed yourself." Hades looked up hopefully. "You kidnapped my daughter and almost got her killed. Then you protected a village from being destroyed by someone more evil than yourself.

"This is my decree: for the next five years, you will stay in the form of a teenager. You will work as a servant in my temple, using no powers to do your work. After five years, if I believe you've learned your lesson, you will return to the Underworld."

Hades smiled and bowed to the goddess. "Thank you."

The group at the door dispersed.

"Mom went easy on him." Shinjitsu noted. "If Hades hadn't helped save the village, she would've turned him into a gnat for a few millennia."

"Well, I think being a servant without using his godly powers will be a suitable punishment." Kivu said.

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Lin stirred in her sleep. She moved over to bury herself in her father's chest, but felt only cold air. Waking up, the hatchling realized that Shifu was gone. Lin jumped out of the bed and quietly snuck out the door. She wandered over to the peach tree, then the training hall, and finally the Hall of Warriors, where she found her adoptive father standing before Oogway's shrine. Lin calmly walked over and sat down next to the red panda, staring at the painting of the old tortoise. For a long moment, the two stared at the painting.

"Whatcha doin'?" Lin finally asked.

Shifu shrugged. "Thinking."

"'bout what?"

"Nothing."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I already answered that question."

"Well, you can't be thinking of nothing because then you wouldn't be thinking."

Shifu cast a glance at the dragon. "When did you get so smart mouthed?"

"When did you get stubborn?" Lin demanded. Shifu rolled his eyes. "Seriously, is something wrong? Are you sick?" Lin glanced warily at the scar on Shifu's face.

"I'm fine." Shifu assured. "I was just thinking about my pack."

"The werewolves?" Lin repeated. "You're not seriously thinking about letting them into the village, are you?"

"They've been living in hiding for so long." Shifu sighed. "I spent my years with them living by that lifestyle; we live in one spot until we're spotted and then we leave."

"I understand that you want to bring your two worlds together." Lin said. "But what if the villagers don't accept the werewolves? You'll have to leave."

"I know." Shifu said. "That's why I'm having such a hard time deciding." Shifu stared at his master's portrait. "What would you do, Lin?"

"Well, if it was me and it was a bunch of dragons, I'd choose against taking them to the village." Lin said matter-of-factly. "But that's just because there are so many people who would want to hurt dragons."

"Well you're no help at all." Shifu grumbled.

"Look, this is the only advice I can give you." Lin sighed. "Do what you believe is right for your pack and your people." Lin walked off with a yawn. Shifu went back to staring at Oogway's shrine. He ran his hand along the broken staff.

"So much for asking the dragon." He mumbled. He glanced back at the painting before bowing and walking back to bed.

The next morning, he gathered everyone in the kitchen.

"There's something I need to do." Shifu announced once everyone was there. "Something I could've done a long time ago. But I need you all there to help me."

"We're right behind you." Po promised. The others nodded.

Shifu glanced at Chen and Yī fù. "You two must come as well. Chen, I want to speak to you alone." The werewolf pup and the old master walked out of the room, whispering to each other. Everyone glanced at each other before shrugging and finishing breakfast. Then, the entire group, Shifu, Po, the Five, Skia, Lin, Shinjitsu, Kivu, Tan, Hades, Nemesis, Yī fù, and Chen headed down to the valley. Shifu ordered Crane and Viper to gather the villagers in the square, where they met up. Many of the villagers were scared of Yī fù, who was shuffling around nervously. But the sight of Shifu and his students must've given them security, so the villagers stayed.

Once everyone was assembled, Shifu glanced into the woods. Upon seeing Zhan shi staring back at him, he sighed and nodded towards Chen. The cheetah cub sighed and stepped forward. The villagers, including some of Chen's village friends, watched carefully.

Then, Chen transformed to his werewolf state.

A/N: Cliffhanger! Hope you enjoyed! BTW, not sure when my next update will me. Got Homecoming arriving soon!


	16. Goodbye

Chapter Sixteen- Goodbye

The villagers gasped and stepped back, some parents pulling back Chen's friends. But the presence of Shifu and his students prevented them from running

"Don't be afraid." Shifu said quickly. "He won't hurt you."

"But he's a werewolf." One villager protested.

"He's a monster!" another added.

"Oh really?" Shifu questioned. "What did he do to you?" The villagers who had spoken suddenly gained interest in the ground. "Listen, Chen and Yī fù are my friends. Before I came here, I lived with them and an entire pack of werewolves." Shifu looked towards the forest, and Zhan shi came out with the pack. The villagers were mortally terrified, but still stayed where they were. They were even more shocked when Shifu transformed as well.

"These _monsters _that you call them saved the valley and many lives, most of them being yours." Shifu glared at the villagers. "They _saved _this valley. I will understand if you don't accept them, but I'm asking you all to consider them staying. I will personally make sure none of them harm you. Though I don't see why they would."

The villagers were silent for a long time. Most were glancing from the werewolves to the Jade Palace warriors. The silence made the town seem haunted. Many of the villagers stepped back a little.

Shifu sighed. He walked over to the werewolves. "Let's go." The pack followed the old master. But they only went a little ways before someone stopped them. Shifu looked down to see a young rabbit girl staring at his face. He bent down, and the girl smiled.

"You saved my life." She said. She stepped back and bowed. "Thank you."

Shifu smiled and nodded.

"One of those other werewolves saved my life." Mr. Ping suddenly piped up. The villagers started muttering to themselves. Another rabbit came up behind her daughter.

"Perhaps we can get used to it." She said.

Chen's friends ran up to the pup and tackled him, and the group started playing. Eventually, the villagers and the werewolves joined together, talking and easing the tension between them. The rabbit girl Shifu saved ran over to Chen, who had other kids riding on his back. Her mother followed, making sure the children were being safe.

Zhan shi walked over to his brother. "Well, that was a bit risky."

"It worked, didn't it?" Shifu countered.

Zhan shi smiled. "I think life is about to get a lot better for us."

Zhan shi was right. Within a few days, the pack had moved in to the village. The villagers were a bit nervous, but soon made amends with the wolves. The two groups lived in peace. Now, whenever Shifu or anyone at the palace walked thru the streets of the village, they'd see werewolves mixed in with the normal people they usually saw. Yī fù moved in with Yun, and the two women worked together as the best doctors in China. Chen introduced his werewolf friends to his village friends, and they could all be found romping around with all the other adults getting out of the way. One werewolf, who used to be a mother, watched over them. Whenever Po went to work at his dad's shop, he had to get used to seeing a large wolf at the counter. But he got used to it after jumping out of his skin a few times.

A few weeks passed before the goodbyes happened.

Nemesis, Hades, Kivu, and Shinjitsu were the first ones to leave.

"I want to thank you again." Nemesis told Shifu and Kiki. "You helped save my daughter."

"Not a problem." Kiki shrugged.

"Where will you go?" Shifu asked.

"I'm going home to oversee Hades' sentence." Nemesis said. Hades looked sheepish, still a teenager.

"It's gonna be a long five years." He chuckled.

"Kivu and I are going back to the Bermuda Triangle to finish our interrupted honeymoon." Shinjitsu said. She cast a look at Skia, who apologized for the fifth time that day.

Kivu, as a zebra, walked up to Shifu. "Thank you for helping me get my wife back."

"Thank you for helping me save Lin." Shifu said. "You did the spell."

"Oh yeah." Kivu turned into a nymph and dug into his pocket. He pulled out a necklace and handed it to Shifu. Shifu held up the necklace and stared at it.

It was the Yin-Yang Symbol.

"Why are you-?"

"There's no one else in the world I can trust with this." Kivu said. "Keep it, hide it, or destroy it. I don't care what you do with it."

Nemesis, Hades, Kivu, and Shinjitsu bid everyone farewell and disappeared, as magical beings do.

Skia and Tan were next to leave. "I have to go back to the Underworld and tell Madame Tera to take care of things." Skia explained. "But I'll be back." She bowed to Shifu. "If I may, I'd like to come home."

"Of course." Shifu didn't hesitate.

"I need to get back to my job." Tan said. "But summer's over in a few weeks, so I'll be off then."

"You're welcome here anytime." Shifu assured.

"Will, uh, Kiki be here?" Tan looked over at the cheetah cub.

"Sometimes." Shifu said warily. "But usually she'll be with her parents."

"Ok." Tan walked up to Kiki. "Uh, I just want you to know that I think you're a great warrior and I hope that we can see each other again because I think you're pretty cute and oh look, I'm rambling, aren't I? Well-" Kiki rolled her eyes and kissed the tanuki. Tan's fur stood up and his eyes turned to hearts.

"You talk too much, fur ball." Kiki mocked. "It's a good thing you're cute." Tan giggled like a little girl.

Skia rolled her eyes this time. "I'll be back soon." She dragged the still giggling Tan and the two disappeared thru a portal to the Underworld.

Lin and Kiki prepared to leave.

"I'll be taking Kiki home to her parents." Lin said as she went to adult form. "It'll be good to see my sister again as well."

"I just hope Mom and Dad don't kill me." Kiki groaned.

"If I know Mei and Tai Lung, I think I know what'll happen." Shifu said. "Your dad will blow up and Mei will calm him down." Kiki laughed. She hugged her grandfather. "Bye Yeye." Then, Kiki ran over to Yuki and gave the ghost a hug. "Bye Nainai." Yuki hugged her 'granddaughter' and the cheetah cub hopped onto Lin. The dragon glanced at Yuki, who was talking to Tigress and Viper.

"I'll be taking Kiki home and visiting Daiyu for a few days." Lin told Shifu. "Then, I'll have to come here and take her back to Heaven." Shifu stared at the ground. "I'm sorry."

Shifu hardened his heart. "It's fine. I know I can't have her back. I should've never gone for her help in the Underworld." Lin sighed and nuzzled the red panda.

"Just spend these last days with her and make them mean something." Lin took off, leaving the red panda with his students and deceased fiancé. He sighed and walked over to them, and the group went off to eat dinner.

Sometime during the meal, Shifu had left. Yuki had noticed, but kept up her conversation with Po. When the Five and Po went to bed, she wandered to Shifu's room and found him already asleep. She sighed and walked off to a spare room to sleep.

The next few days, Yuki watched Shifu's students train. She clearly showed how impressed she was. She even showed Viper her ribbon dancing skills, which matched the snake's. Tigress and Viper liked having another woman master around. They were able to connect with Yuki easier than with Master Shifu.

Then, Lin came back. The Five and Po were pretty surprised that Yuki had to leave, but understood. Shifu took Lin aside and begged for one more night with his fiancé.

Lin sighed. "Fine. _One _night. But tomorrow, she'll be gone."

"I understand." Shifu said.

That night, Shifu told Yuki to meet him at the gates. When she obeyed, Shifu took her down into the village. It was late, and everybody was asleep.

"Shifu, where are we going?" Yuki whispered. But Shifu didn't answer, and instead just pulled her along. He stopped after a while. "Where are we?"

"Just watch." Shifu said. He suddenly shot fire from his fingertips, lighting up a circle of lanterns around them. Yuki watched with awe as a fountain was suddenly lit up.

"Your fire bending." Yuki whispered.

"Lin gave it back to me." Shifu said. He shrugged like it was nothing.

Yuki looked around. "I remember this place; this is the fountain we came to when we first came to the village." She stared at Shifu, who was sitting on the fountain's edge. She sat next to him and the two stared into the waters. Yuki smiled in the waters, but her smile disappeared when she saw Shifu's sad face. "Something wrong?"

Shifu shrugged. "No."

Yuki huffed. "Liar." Shifu didn't do anything except stare into the waters. Yuki rolled her eyes and gave the old master a playful shove. "Come on, speak up."

"I'm not in the mood." Shifu grumbled.

Yuki frowned and grabbed one of Shifu's ears, pulling him backwards and forcing him into the water. Shifu came back up sputtering and spitting out water.

"What was that for?" He demanded

"Hush, or you'll wake up the entire village!" Yuki hissed. Shifu growled and pulled himself out of the fountain.

"Well thanks for that." Shifu muttered. "If I get a cold tomorrow, I'm blaming you."

"I'll be gone tomorrow." Yuki snapped. For a long moment, there wasn't a sound, just the _drip drip _of water falling from Shifu's whiskers. Yuki sighed. "You thought I didn't know?"

"No."

"Then what's going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Shifu turned away.

Yuki's eyebrow rose. "Shall I shove you underwater again?"

Shifu sighed. "I don't want you to leave."

Yuki laughed a little. "I don't want to leave either." She took Shifu's hand in hers. "I miss you. It's not fair that I was taken from your unfairly."

"Life's not fair." Shifu muttered.

Yuki glared. "Look, do you have _any _idea how hard it was for me? I had to accept the fact that I was _dead_. I had to accept the fact that I may _never _see the people care about. I thought I'd never see Master Oogway or you again. The only good thing that came out of me being dead is that I got to see my parents again. Years later I get to see Oogway again. But it took twenty years for me to figure out how to get into your head and visit you." Yuki suddenly gained interest in the lanterns on the water. "I could never talk to you. Once or twice, I'd come down and see you, but you never saw or heard me. I wanted to talk to you so badly. I heard about Tai Lung, but I never knew how it happened. I wish I could've been there to help you raise the boy; maybe then he wouldn't have turned out like that. I'm not saying it's your fault, but I keep thinking I should've been there. Just so I can be mother figure to him." Yuki's eyes were glassy with tears. "I wish I could've at least been around so we could marry."

Shifu turned to his lover, staring at the beautiful woman before him. In his eyes, she was perfect; soft white fur, clear sky blue eyes, and a strong spirit. She was a wild stallion in the form of a red panda.

And she was dead.

"Master Oogway told me that death is a part of life." Shifu said. "He told me that everyone goes thru it. I understood this when my mother died. But I hadn't known my mother very well. When I lost you, I was devastated beyond belief. I would've given _anything _to have you back." Yuki looked toward him. "I still would." Shifu continued. "I've tried to forget, but I could never stop thinking of you. There were times when my life was in danger and I thought that if I just gave up I'd be able to see you again. But soon, I started wondering if it was pointless. I decided that I could wait. But every day was painful. There were many things at the palace that reminded me of you." Shifu's eyes locked with Yuki's. "I never forgot; never fell in love again. And when you leave, I will wait for when I see you again."

Yuki smiled and scooted next to Shifu, still soaking wet. "We still have our little dream dates."

"Yeah." Shifu smiled. "At least then we can be younger." Yuki laughed, and then yawned. "Come on, let's go home." Shifu nodded reluctantly and they walked off. Shifu dried off and changed, but Yuki laughed, saying he looked like an overly fluffy cat. Shifu responded by throwing a pillow at her. The two fell asleep together that night, for the first time in years.

The next morning, Shifu woke up to empty arms.

A/N: Nainai means grandma in Chinese. The lit up fountain is referenced from Avatar: the Last Air bender. Please review!


	17. Things Calm Down sorta

_I couldn't leave a cliffhanger because all of you will guess what happens next and be right. So this'll be a long chapter._

Chapter Seventeen- Things Calm Down (sorta)

Shifu didn't talk to anyone the next morning. Lin and Yuki were gone, and no one said a word about anything. Breakfast was quiet. The only sounds during training were the equipment and the battle cries. Shifu was secluded and meditated as though he were trying to forget about his deceased fiancé. When that didn't work, his students found him practicing his fire bending. At lunch, Po tried to lift the mood a little, but to no avail. Around dinnertime, Monkey managed to make a pretty good joke, and then the mood rose a little. When Mantis kept it up, there was a chuckle here and there. Halfway thru dinner, there was laughter and talking.

"Did I ever tell you guys about how I nearly caught my house on fire?" Po laughed.

"What?" Viper exclaimed.

"Well, I was cooking and some rice paper got too close to the fire." Po explained. "The paper caught fire and so did the counter. Dad had to dump ten buckets of water on it!"

"When was this?" Crane asked.

"When I was ten." Po shrugged sheepishly. "I was trying to make Dad's Secret Ingredient Soup, and I failed epically." Everyone laughed; they were eating some of said soup for dinner that night.

"You seriously have to tell me what's in this!" Mantis said.

"I'm not telling guys." Po said. "It's a family secret."

"Well, as long as there's nothing gross in this." Viper said.

"I can promise you that." Po assured. "Dragon Warrior's word."

Everyone was smiling now. "Well, I can't remember a time when I've laughed like this." Viper said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"It's a shame Master won't join us." Tigress noted sullenly. Everyone glanced at the empty seat at the end of the table.

"He's just sad about Yuki." Po said.

"I can't believe he was even engaged." Monkey said.

"Yeah." Mantis agreed. "He always seemed like such a grouch that I couldn't see how any girl could fall in love with him." Everyone suddenly had a shocked look on their faces, and Mantis's gaze averted to the door along with theirs. Master Shifu stood in the doorway, his face stern. He glanced at each of his students before walking off without a word.

"Oops." Mantis said.

"I don't think that's what's making him angry." Tigress said. "But it might be."

"I should go apologize, shouldn't I?" Mantis asked.

"Well, maybe we shouldn't bug him." Po suggested. Mantis glared at him. "Excuse the pun." Mantis stared at his half-finished soup before walking off. He found Shifu sitting in his room, holding a piece of paper in his hands. Mantis walked over to his master and saw that he was holding a picture of Yuki standing next to her fiancé.

"Hey." Mantis said.

"I don't recall telling you to enter." Shifu muttered. Mantis huffed and walked over to the door. He turned to face his master and knocked on the rice paper door.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"No." Shifu snapped.

Mantis walked back over to his master's side. "Too late."

Shifu growled. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry if I offended you with my last comment." Mantis said. "I didn't mean-"

"I'm not angry about that." Shifu interrupted.

"Then what's up?" Mantis asked. "I know you must be upset over Yuki, but I haven't seen you this depressed since Lin left."

"Mantis, have you ever been in love?" Shifu asked. "Have you ever loved someone so much that, if they died, you feel like a part of you died with them? That's how I feel about Yuki. After my mother died and my father disowned me, she and Oogway became my world." Shifu sighed. "With both of them gone, I have no one."

"What about us?" Mantis asked. "You said we're like your own kids."

Shifu glanced at the bug. "I never said that to any of you."

"Lin told us."

Shifu huffed. "Blabber mouth."

Mantis chuckled. "Look, to tell you the truth, I was in love once. When I was sixteen, I fell head over heels for this really pretty butterfly that lived near me. I sent her love notes every day, signing them 'Your Secret Admirer'. After a while, I told her it was me, and we started going out. I thought everything was going to work out perfectly for me."

"What happened to her?" Shifu asked.

"Well, after we went out for a week, she fell for some tough grasshopper that was a pro boxer and dumped me." Mantis said sheepishly. Shifu stifled a laugh. "I was pretty depressed, but then my depression turned to anger, and I went off to learn kung fu and help others. After a while, she heard about how I was a warrior and came crawling back. But I rejected her."

"Is there a point to this story?" Shifu asked.

"I'm just trying to make you feel better." Mantis said. "And don't dwell over Yuki. She's still with you." Mantis walked off with a pleasant "Goodnight."

Shifu stared out the window, then at Yuki and his picture. He smiled and put the picture under his pillow before going to sleep, where Yuki was waiting.

The next morning, the residents got a surprise at breakfast. As Po was serving breakfast, a portal appeared above their heads. Skia jumped out and landed right on the table, also landing a foot on the edge of Po's bowl, which flipped up and landed on his head. The portal closed and Skia jumped off the table. The albino ferret smiled. "What up?"

"My breakfast." Po grumbled.

Skia chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that."

"Back from the Underworld, I see." Shifu said.

"Yep." Skia nodded happily. "Oh, by the way." She pulled out Shifu's bamboo flute. "This is yours."

"Thank you." Shifu said, taking his flute in his hands. "I forgot I had left this with Madame Tera."

"She had me take Kivu his medicine back, too." Skia groaned. "I almost got eaten by a sea monster!" Everyone laughed.

"Well, it's good to have you as a part of our family." Po said after getting his breakfast off his head. "Uh, you're not going to use any of your shadow magic on us, are you?"

"Unless Shifu permits me to, I won't." Skia promised.

"And there _will _be times when I permit her." Shifu added. Po's skin turned pale beneath his fur.

After that, life had officially changed in the Jade Palace and its village. Werewolves could be seen regularly. Skia was practicing kung fu, her weapons, and her shadow magic in the training hall with the Five and Po. Shifu enhanced his fire bending after being extremely out of practice. The village had a new night guard system created by Shifu and Zhan shi; while Shifu and his students rested at the palace, the werewolves worked in shifts, guarding the palace at the village at night so there would be no sneak attacks. It was becoming the newest way of life, and the valley managed to adapt to it.

Summer passed. When autumn came, so did Kiki, Tai Lung, and Mei.

"I was thinking that Kiki ought to start learning kung fu." Tai Lung explained over dinner. "She's very skillful with her archery, but she's already way overdue for her training. I taught her the basics, but I thought it would be better if she learned alongside of other masters besides her parents."

"We came up with a plan, if you will agree." Mei said. "You train Kiki in kung fu and let her stay at the Jade Palace. During the summer, we'd like to have her back at home."

"Sounds good to me." Shifu said. "But why don't you move here?"

"I doubt the village has forgiven me." Tai Lung muttered. "I had to sneak my way up here."

"Oh." Shifu sighed. "Right. Then your plan will work perfectly."

"Great." Mei said. "We'll send Daiyu to get her at the beginning of the summer and she'll bring Kiki at the end of summer."

"Will you at least stay a few more days?" Shifu asked. Tai Lung seemed hesitant, but Mei and Kiki talked him into agreeing.

The timing couldn't have been better, because Tan came for a visit.

Tan was literally shaking in his shoes when he learned that Tai Lung was Kiki's dad. The two had a talk after finding out that Tan and Kiki were in love.

"So, you're Tan the tanuki." Tai Lung said.

Tan stood before the large snow leopard. "Yes sir."

"And you think you're good enough for my daughter?" Tai Lung demanded.

Kiki, who was standing nearby, slapped her forehead. "Baba…"

"Not now, baby girl." Tai Lung purred. He glared at the trembling tanuki before him. "Well, are you going to answer me?"

"I don't think I deserve your daughter." Tan said hesitantly. "But I do love her. She's very pretty and kind and one of the greatest warriors I've ever met. If you've ever seen her with that bow and arrow-"

"I have." Tai Lung growled.

"Well, anyway, she's awesome, and I promise I'll take care of her if you give me a chance." Tan finished.

Tai Lung glanced from his daughter to the tanuki. For a long time, there was silence.

Then, Tai Lung leaned down into Tan's face. Tan shook with fear from the snow leopard's fiery eyes.

Then, Tai Lung said, "You break her heart, I break your spine. Got it?"

Tan brightened up and saluted. "Sir, yes sir!" He and Kiki smiled and hugged, but separated quickly after Tai Lung cleared his throat.

"Run along." He ordered. The tanuki and the cheetah cub ran off. Shifu chuckled as he approached his adoptive son.

"What?" Tai Lung demanded.

"Like father, like son." Shifu said simply. Tai Lung and Shifu laughed.

And so, autumn passed by. During those few months, Tai Lung and Mei visited for a while before going home. Kiki trained with her Yeye and friends. She and Skia bonded like sisters during her training, and the girls were sometimes caught staying up late chatting and giggling until Shifu came and told them to go to bed. Tan and Kiki started going out, and they were having the time of their lives. But if Tan tried to make a move at the wrong time, he'd earn a smack on the head with Shifu's flute. By the time winter had come, Kiki was coming along quite nicely, Tan and Skia had become a part of the Jade Palace family, and Shifu was once again a master fire bender.

A week after winter had officially started, the snow began to fall. The first day, it was a light snowfall, but by the second week, everything was white. It was pleasant despite it being cold, and the village kids and the werewolf pups were often found having constant snowball fights. Po joined in one day and succeeded in getting pummeled by a bunch of kids using snowballs as weapons. He got a pretty good bruise from a snowball Chen had thrown that had a chunk of ice in it. Chen apologized about a hundred times, saying he had no idea there was ice in it. But Po was forgiving and said it wasn't a problem.

Halfway thru winter, there was a storm. Snow fell in clumps; dark clouds filled the sky; the wind howled now and then. Everyone in the village took shelter in their warm homes. The residents of the Jade Palace spent that evening surrounding a fire in the bonfire room. The room was usually used for New Year's celebrations or other holidays, but usually on winter evenings, such as this one, it was used as a place to warm up. A fire was made in a fire pit, and everyone sat on benches around it, a blanket or two around their shoulders. Tan and Kiki shared a blanket, Tan shivering the whole time. Shifu had made some tea, but it didn't do much.

"It's f-f-f-f-freezing!" Po's teeth wouldn't stop chattering.

Shifu breathed into his hands and launched a fireball into the fire, hoping to heat it up more. When that failed, he stood up. "I'm going to get some more wood."

"I'll come, too." Skia offered. "I need to stretch my legs." The two head off outside into the storm to the woodpile, located around the side of the training hall. The two of them gathered some wood and piled it into their arms. The wind pushed against their backs and blew snow into their faces as they hurried along, hoping that the snowstorm didn't freeze them before they got back. Once they thought they had enough wood for now, the two started back. But Shifu paused.

"What's wrong?" Skia asked over the wind.

"I thought I heard something." Shifu said. The two of them listened and, sure enough, they heard the pounding of someone banging on the door.

"Who the devil could that be?" Skia asked.

Shifu sighed. "Just go see who it is. If it's a beggar, offer them a blanket or something and send them off."

"I'll catch up with you later." Skia said. She walked off towards the doors and Shifu walked back to the bonfire room. Once there, he shivered and shook his head, sending snow everywhere. He hurried off to the fire and tossed some wood in. He made another fireball and set the wood aflame, making it much warmer.

"Where's Skia?" Viper asked.

"Someone's at the door and she's seeing who it is." Shifu explained as he sat down and accepted a blanket from Po. "She'll be back soon."

Skia walked up to the doors and called thru the gate. "Who is there?"

"An old friend." A female voice called back. Skia's eyebrow raised and she tucked the wood under one arm before opening the door with her free hand. She looked outside and found an old woman standing before her. The woman wore a cloak with her hood up and a scarf around her neck, mouth, and nose. Her eyes shined familiarly. The slightest wrinkles around her eyes showed that she was at least forty to fifty years old, give or take. A red mask was over her sky blue eyes.

"Can I help you?" Skia asked.

The old woman smiled and shed her scarf, lowering her hood. Skia stood dumbfounded before the woman.

"It can't be." The ferret whispered.

Shifu stared into the flames, then at the door, then back at the flames. "Where is Skia? She should've been back by now."

"I hope that storm hasn't gotten worse." Kiki said.

Suddenly, one of the windows nearby slammed open, the wind making the doors flap everywhere. The fire suddenly went out and it got freezing. Shifu jumped up and onto the table, struggling to close the window. Tan jumped next to him and they shut the window, tying a piece of string around the knobs to keep it shut. The room became pitch black.

"Would somebody light the fire again?" Kiki begged. "I don't like the dark that much."

"Hold on." Po said. "I'll find the flint stones."

"Ow!" Tigress screeched. "That was my tail, you idiot!"

"Wait, here they are." Monkey said.

"I'm not a flint stone!" Mantis yelled.

"Wait, where are you guys?" Tan asked. There was suddenly the sound of a certain tanuki falling on his face.

"All of you stay where you are!" Shifu ordered. He summoned a fireball in his hand, lighting up the room enough for everyone to see where they were.

"Shifu?" Skia's voice called from the hallway. "Where are you?"

"In here." Shifu called. "The fire went out."

"Well, light it." Skia said urgently. "There's someone here to see you."

"Who is it?" Shifu asked.

"You have to see for yourself!" Skia said.

Shifu rolled his eyes and lit the brazier again. The room was instantly lit up, and Shifu found his students and fellow warriors staring at the doorway. He raised an eyebrow before following their gazes. He, too, was shocked beyond belief. He almost whispered, "Impossible", as Skia had, but found he couldn't finish the word.

The old woman stood next to Skia, who was smiling broadly. The old woman had shed her cloak to reveal a black kimono with a white obi. Her face was kind and gentle, but there was a fire in her eyes. Her fur was faded, but that didn't hide her beauty.

"Yuki?" Shifu finally said.

A/N: An obi is the sash on a kimono, for those who didn't know. And by the way: CLIFFHANGER! I bet you all know by now that I'm famous for those.


	18. What Winter Brings

Chapter Eighteen- What Winter Brings

It couldn't be.

Look again.

But it can't be.

It _was._

It was Yuki, the same red panda woman everyone had bonded with during her stay. Shifu remembered her, he could always remember her. Yuki's bright blue eyes and pretty little kimono; her fiery red panda markings; her kind and gentle face. But there was one difference: she was much older, around Shifu's age.

Shifu stood like a statue, staring at the woman he had once lost. Yuki walked over to him and there was silence.

Shifu was the first to speak. "How can you-" Then, Yuki punched his arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"One, you are _still _an idiot for running off into the Underworld and almost getting yourself killed." Yuki snapped. Her voice was aged as well. "Two, you don't seem very happy to see me."

"I've been waiting over twenty years to see you!" Shifu snapped back. "I wanted to slaughter the man that took you. Can't you understand how surprised I am to-" Yuki kissed him, silencing Shifu from his rant. Shifu embraced his lover before they broke away. "I missed you."

"You think I didn't?" Yuki whispered. "You think I forgot about our talk at the fountain?"

"I thought I would never see you again." Shifu said. "I wanted you back more than anything."

"How sweet." Kiki whispered.

Tan made a face. "Ugh." Shifu cast him a glare and chucked a piece of wood at the tanuki.

"But I still don't understand." Shifu said, pulling away from his fiancé. "How are you back?"

"Well, Lin met up with a friend of yours." Yuki explained. "Some fellow named Lang."

"The Werewolf Spirit?" Viper asked.

"Yeah, that's the one." Yuki said. "Anyway, he and Lin met up and they talked about how you had brought peace between the werewolves and the villagers. Lin told Lang about how we were separated, and they took the matter to the Immortals. It took months worth of meetings and trying to convince them, but they eventually agreed that you should receive a gift for your bold move." Yuki smiled warmly. "They agreed to give me back to you."

"So, in other words, I owe Lin and Lang _big time_." Shifu said.

Yuki giggled. "You better believe it." She hugged Shifu, and the two got lost in the moment. The moment, of course, had to be interrupted by string on the window breaking and said window flying open. It took a little longer, but the fire went out again. Shifu and Yuki rushed over and shut the window again, this time double tying it.

"Not again!" Kiki whined.

"Should I find the stones?" Po asked.

"You touch my tail and you die!" Tigress snarled.

"Would you two stop it?" Yuki complained. "Honestly, you sound like a married couple."

"Shifu?" Skia said.

"I'm on it." Shifu sighed. He summoned fire in his palms and lit the brazier once more. "Let's try and keep this going, huh?" Everyone sat down and tried to stay warm. Yuki and Shifu were beside each other the whole time. After a few hours of talking, everyone decided it was time to go to bed and walked off. Shifu slept that night with his lover in his arms, knowing she would still be there tomorrow.

Or so he thought, for when he woke up the next morning, Yuki was gone. Shifu quickly dressed in his normal robes and rushed off to greet his students.

"Good morning, Master." They greeted at the gong.

"Morning." Shifu said, slight panic in his eyes. "Has anyone seen Yuki?"

"Isn't she with you?" Mantis asked.

"I woke up and she was gone." Shifu said.

"Maybe she was tired of you sweating all over her!" Tan laughed. Everyone glared at him and Kiki face palmed. Tan's laughter died down.

Then, Po sniffed the air. "Hey, something smells good." Then, he frowned. "Wait, I thought I make breakfast every morning." Everyone shared glances before rushing off to the kitchen. Shifu breathed a sigh of relief when he and the others saw Yuki cooking. She was still in her black and white kimono.

"Morning." Yuki greeted. "I was wondering when you'd all get up."

"How long have you been awake?" Po asked. "Shifu was worried sick when he found you missing." Shifu stomped on Po's foot, making the panda grunt thru gritted teeth.

Yuki giggled. "I've been up for a while. And if you remember, Shifu dear, I told you I was going to make breakfast and you said 'Okay' before going back to snoring."

Mantis sniggered. "You snore?"

"Shall I squash you next?" Shifu asked. Mantis shut his mouth and everyone took their seats at the table. Yuki put out the food and sat down. Everyone stared at the food.

"What is this?" Po asked.

"Japanese breakfast foods." Yuki said. "My family is Japanese and I just felt like making it. I hope you don't mind." Everyone shrugged and ate after Yuki told them the blessing they say in Japanese before they eat.

Po took a bit of something green in his bowl. "Mmm, this is good. What is this?"

"Seasoned nori." Yuki said as she ate her rice.

Po nodded with approval, then asked, "What's that?"

"Dried seaweed." Yuki smirked.

Po spit it out and took a drink from the bowl next to him. Before Yuki could warn him, he started yelling.

"What now?" Tigress demanded.

"He drank the miso soup." Yuki laughed. "I guess it's too spicy for him."

Po gulped down a bunch of water. "Ya think?"

Everyone laughed at Po's misfortune before continuing to eat. Some of them also found the miso soup to be too spicy for their taste buds. Tan, Yuki, and Shifu were the only ones unaffected. Shifu said he had tasted it before and was used to it. Tan said that he was from Japan as well. After the breakfast affair, everyone walked outside to see the aftermath of the snowstorm. Everything was white and the snow was at least five feet deep. It took a lot of begging and some encouragement from his fiancé before Shifu agreed to cancel training.

"Just this once." He added, but his students were already running about in the snow. Tigress stayed with her master.

"Tigress."

The feline turned to Yuki. "Won't you go and play?"

"I'm not a child." Tigress retorted.

"Let me rephrase." Yuki said. "Aren't you going to play in the snow?"

"Children play in the snow." Tigress snorted.

"Tell that to them." Yuki laughed. The rest of the Five, Po, Kiki, Tan, and Skia were romping around in the snow. Then, Tan chucked a snowball at Po, who threw one back. People took up sides and started a full-on snowball fight. Shifu eventually shrugged and joined in.

"This is silly." Tigress scoffed. "We are honored warriors, not immature little-" She was interrupted by a punch of snow slamming into her face. Yuki stifled back a laugh with the best of her abilities, and everyone's eyes turned to Tan, who had thrown the snow. The tanuki was petrified as he waited for Tigress' reaction. The large cat strolled over to the shaking raccoon dog, who was literally shaking.

"Now Tigress….." Shifu started, but Tigress held up her hand. She grabbed Tan by the front of his shirt and carried him to the snow bank. Though Tan started protesting, Tigress turned the tanuki upside down and drove him headfirst in to the snow. Then, she grabbed a bunch of snow and buried the rest of the tanuki. She walked off, looking quite proud.

"Won't Tan get hypothermia?" Monkey asked.

"With all that fur?" Kiki said. "I doubt it."

Suddenly, a snowball flew thru the air, nailing the back of Tigress' head. Tan had gotten out of the snow and was smirking, his fur coated in frost.

Tigress growled playfully. "Bring it on, fur ball!"

"Back at ya, kitty-cat!" Tan yelled. The snowball fight resumed, and even Yuki joined in. It was hours of flying snow and taunting before the group stopped for lunch. Everyone was cold and wet and Po made some of his famous soup to warm everyone up.

That night, as Kiki was walking to her room, she spotted Tan sneaking stealthily towards the Hall of Warriors. Curious, the cub followed, stepping lightly across the snow and running across the roof. She ended up following Tan onto the roof of the Hall of Warriors and thru one of the holes in said roof. Kiki watched as Tan positioned himself comfortably onto one of the rafters and watch something. Looking down, Kiki saw that Shifu and Yuki were there, staring at Master Oogway's shrine. Kiki soundlessly crawled over to Tan and tapped him on the shoulder. The tanuki saw her and immediately motioned for her to be quiet. The two of them watched as the two red pandas below them talked.

"What's Heaven like?" Shifu asked.

Yuki laughed lightly. "There are some things best experienced yourself." Shifu shook his head. Yuki averted her eyes to Oogway's broken. She ran her hand across the smooth wood. "This staff….."

"I'm assuming you saw what happened?" Shifu muttered.

Yuki sighed. "Well, I was hoping you wouldn't be dead." She picked up the curved end of the staff, fingering it. "Such a shame."

"It was the only thing I had left of him." Shifu said. "Now, it really feels like he's gone."

Yuki leaned her head on Shifu's shoulder. "When Master Oogway died, I was waiting for him. We had a long chat about what had been happening. The last thing he told me was that he misses you. He'll be waiting for you when you die." Shifu sighed and walked off to bed. Yuki watched him until he disappeared before turning back to the shrine. She picked up the two halves of Oogway's staff and stared at the broken ends, which looked like the frayed ends of a rope. She pieced the two ends of the staff together to make it look whole again. Then, Yuki gripped the broken section and took a deep breath. The staff part under her hand glowed, and then died after a few seconds. Yuki smiled and twirled the newly fixed staff around her head. She bowed before Oogway's shrine before returning the staff to its place.

"Welcome back, Master Oogway." Yuk whispered. She bowed once more before walking outside. She turned back and stared directly up at Tan and Kiki. "I know you two are up there." The tanuki and cheetah cub exchanged glances and climbed down next to the red panda.

"I told you they could hear us." Kiki said.

"We did." Yuki said. "But we thought it wouldn't hurt for you to listen." She placed and arm around each of the kids. "Now, why don't we get to bed?" Kiki and Tan nodded and the three of them headed off. Kiki hugged her grandmother before going to bed.

"Goodnight, Nainai." Kiki said.

"Goodnight my little warrior." Yuki chuckled. She walked off to her and Shifu's room.

Kiki watched her grandmother until she disappeared. Then she glanced at Tan, who had a weird look on his face. "What's up?"

"I was just thinking." Tan said. "Shifu and Yuki never really married, didn't they?"

Kiki pondered this thought before smiling. "You're right."

Tan smiled, too. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

A/N: Last chapter coming up!


	19. One Last Change

Chapter Nineteen- One Last Change

Shifu smoothed the fur on his head and ears, scouring himself for anything that seemed out of place or imperfect. He straightened his robes and adjusted his necklace. He wrung his hands nervously.

A knock came at his door. "Can I come in?" Po's voice called.

"Sure." Shifu called back. Po walked in and noticed his master's agitation.

He laughed. "Would you relax?"

"How can I relax?" Shifu demanded. "I'm about to go thru something huge!"

"Come on!" Po said. "You're the greatest kung fu master in all of China, maybe all the world. You can handle something little like this."

"_This _is _not _little by _any _means." Shifu protested.

Po sighed. "Look, you love this girl, right?"

"Absolutely." Shifu said.

"You're willingly to stay by her side no matter what happens?"

"Yes."

"If someone tried to take her from you, you'd defend her, right?"

"If someone lays a hand on her, I'm gonna kill them."

Po smiled. "Then you're fine. Hey, I don't even have a girl I've got eyes on, much less go thru what you're about to."

Shifu turned to Po and smiled. "Thanks."

Suddenly, Skia ran in. She was smiling from ear to ear. "You boys ready? It's time for the wedding."

_STAR STAR STAR STAR STAR_

Tan and Kiki had told everyone their thoughts the day after Yuki's fixing of Oogway's staff. But everyone agreed it would be better to wait until spring for the wedding. Plans were made at least a month in advance. Yuki had convinced the girls of the group to have a small wedding there in the Jade Palace. It was held in the New Year's room, the only place for a proper wedding. Lin, Daiyu, Tai Lung, Mei, Shinjitsu, and Kivu were all invited. Even Madame Tera, Nemesis, and Hades came.

Before the wedding began, Madame Tera approached Shifu. The creepy-looking marine iguana seemed less creepy-looking as she smiled. "Turns out Tai Lung's not the only lucky dog around here."

Shifu smiled. "Surprised?"

Madame Tera laughed. "Never."

The wedding started soon after. Yuki was dressed in one of her red and gold kimono with the traditional Chinese Phoenix crown on her head. She personally felt that the curtain of tassels in her face was unnecessary, but she held her tongue. Shifu had his robes Yuki had made and a traditional groom cap on his head. The wedding wasn't necessarily a traditional Chinese wedding, but it was the best they could put together. Shifu and Yuki knelt side-by-side before the alter. The ghostly form of Master Oogway himself was the priest, and Shifu couldn't stop smiling at him. After blessings and sacred vows, the couple was given goblets of wine tied together with a red sash, as to bind their lives together forever. They drank and bowed to each other. When Oogway announced them married, they kissed.

The party afterwards was pretty fun. It was similar to Shinjitsu and Kivu's wedding party. Everyone was congratulating the newly wed. Po tried to make a discrete comment about the fact Shifu was marrying at his age, but he earned a whack on the head from Lin's tail. Thankfully, there was no vomiting, but there was a sad farewell between student and master when Oogway had to leave. But Shifu said that he loved having Oogway there to see the wedding. As the night dragged on, people dispersed. Lin and Daiyu left for home. Nemesis and Hades returned to her temple. Madame Tera returned to the Underworld. Kivu and Shinjitsu left soon after them.

"Where are you two going?" Shifu asked.

"We live in a manor near the place where Dai's haunted house was." Shinjitsu said. "So you may see us from time to time."

"Well that's good." Yuki said. "It's a pleasure to see you two."

"Hey, Shifu, what did you do with the Yin-Yang symbol?" Kivu asked.

"It's hidden away." Shifu assured. "Someplace that only Yuki and I would know about."

"Good." Kivu sighed.

The couple left then, and Shifu went with his wife to join the others. Tan fell asleep in a chair and Po had to drag him to bed. Kiki fell asleep as well, and her parents carried her to bed.

"I think we'll be staying a few days." Tai Lung said. "And…..I think we might be able to move up here."

"Are you sure?" Shifu asked. "I know that you have a pretty good home where you are now."

"We live in a pretty secluded place." Tai Lung admitted. "I was thinking it would be better to live closer to family."

"Well, you're welcome here anytime." Yuki promised. Tai Lung smiled and walked off to take his daughter to bed. In a few hours, everyone had gone to bed except two. Shifu and Yuki had gone up to the Sacred Peach Tree after everyone had gone to sleep to stare at the stars. They had long since removed their crown and cap, thankful for the relief.

Yuki sighed. She smiled up at the blossoms on the peach tree above her. "It's such a beautiful night."

"Yeah." Shifu sighed. "I'm glad."

"For what?" Yuki asked.

"That I finally married the woman I loved." Shifu said simply. Yuki laughed lightly and leaned against her husband.

"So now what?" she asked. "We have maybe thirty years left together."

"That's with our children and students." Shifu said.

Yuki smiled. "Then, an eternity together in Heaven."

Shifu sighed. "I don't know."

Yuki sat up. "What do you mean?"

"How am I supposed to know if I deserve Heaven?" Shifu wondered. "What if I made too many mistakes? I've killed people. I re-killed one person. What if I don't deserve it?" Shifu turned from his wife. "I've done so much in my life, and I'm not too proud of most of it."

Yuki smiled lightly she turned Shifu's head to face her and gently touched his scar. The three scratch marks from the Fury were still there, red with unshed blood. "You were willing to die for so many people, most, if not all, of them being students that you consider children. If you ask me, I think you'll gain Heaven without a single hesitation."

Shifu smiled and took her hand in his. "Lin told you that, didn't she?"

Yuki laughed. "It helps to have a dragon for a friend."

_*THREE MONTHS LATER*_

Shifu watched his students train on their usual pieces. Po was working on the Fiery Field of Death along with Viper, Kiki was practicing her aim with her archery, and Tan and Skia were sparring with their weapons. Tai Lung and Mei were sparring as well. The couple had moved in just a week prior. Yuki walked over to her husband and rested her head on his shoulder.

"They're doing well." Yuki said.

"Yes." Shifu agreed. "I think it's time for Kiki's test."

"You sure?" Yuki asked uncertainly. "She's still only a child."

"She's eleven years old." Shifu said. "She'll be fine. Her mother survived as a slave until she was eleven."

"Well, if you think she's ready." Yuki shrugged. Shifu nodded and called his granddaughter over. The cheetah cub ran over and bowed to her grandparents.

"It's time for your test." Shifu said. "Do you believe you're ready?"

"Uh…..I guess so." Kiki said uncertainly.

"Don't guess." Shifu said sternly. "You either are or you aren't. Which is it?"

Kiki thought for a moment before nodding with confidence. "I'm ready." Shifu smiled and led her outside. The others followed them and watched from the steps of the Training Hall. Shifu stood in front of a tree and Kiki stood twenty feet in front of him, bow loaded and ready.

"Now remember, you're aiming to either wound or kill." Shifu instructed. "Don't worry about hurting me. Understand?"

Kiki nodded and drew back the bowstring, aiming directly at Shifu's head. "What if I _do_ hurt you?"

"Then you'll do even better in battle." Shifu said. "Begin whenever you're ready."

Kiki stared down the line of arrow and into the spot she was aiming for, which happened to be between Shifu's eyes. The cub took a deep breath and fired. The arrow whizzed thru the air and nearly struck Shifu, but the old master was able to deflect it. Kiki kept firing, knowing her grandfather would be alright. Shifu deflected about five more of Kiki's well aimed arrows before moving in and attacking the cheetah. Kiki was unprepared, however, and could only block a few blows before Shifu swiped her legs from under her and pin her to the ground by her own bow. Shifu let Kiki retrieve her bow and the cub bowed to her master.

"You rely a bit too much on your archery." Shifu said. "Remember that, while that is your greatest strength, you won't always have a bow or a quiver full of arrows."

"I understand." Kiki sulked.

"But you did wonderfully." Shifu smiled. Kiki grinned and hugged her grandfather.

"Thanks, Yeye." She said. Master and student bowed to each other before everyone walked off to dinner. Po made his famous soup and everyone sat down to eat. They talked, laughed, and ate, discussing whatever there was to discuss. Everyone congratulated Kiki on her archery and Tigress even gave the cub some tips on fighting. Dinner was over soon, and everyone head off to bed. Tan tried flirting with Kiki, but shied away when Tai Lung gave him a killer glare.

Yuki, after bidding goodnight to the others, walked down to her and Shifu's room, hoping for a good night's sleep. Once in the room, however, she saw that a certain trapdoor was open and a light was illuminating from the bottom of it. Yuki smiled and walked down the steps to the large, hidden room at the bottom. Sitting on a small cot in the room was Shifu, fingering the Yin-Yang Symbol. Yuki sat down next to her husband and the two of them stared at the necklace.

"Keeping down here, huh?" Yuki said. "Good choice."

"Well, you, the werewolves, and I are the only ones who know about it." Shifu shrugged. He put the symbol inside a blank journal that had a hollowed out part and put it on the shelf. The two red pandas journeyed upstairs to bed.

"Kiki did very well today." Yuki said.

"Yes." Shifu nodded. "And she and Tan seem….."

"Very much in love?" Yuki teased. "They remind me of us as children."

"Except they're two totally different species." Shifu noted.

"Love hath no prejudice." Yuki sighed. She laid back and Shifu crawled into bed with her.

"Well, that boy better behave for Tai Lung." Shifu said. "If I know Tai Lung, I know that Tan will be dead if he ever mistreats Kiki."

"You were the one that raised the cat." Yuki reminded him. "I can't wait for the day that Tan gets the courage to ask Kiki out."

"I can't wait for the day Tai Lung breaks Tan's legs for asking Kiki out." Shifu said.

Yuki laughed and hugged her husband, yawning. "Well, you could calm him down."

Shifu laughed and put an arm around his wife. "Yeah right."

A/N: Sorry for the delay and the chapter that might seem a bit bad. I had major writer's block.

So, before I start back on _Friend or Prey?_, I'm gonna be working on a short story called _Return to Lee Da_, featuring Crane as the main character. It'll be a two part story, each part maybe six pages long. Until then!


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